The Tale of the Duck and the Knight
by animomma
Summary: Fakir tries to change Ahiru back into a human, but are his powers enough to overcome the spell Drosselmeyer cast?
1. Little Red Riding Hood

The girl walked along the forest path, swinging her basket and humming to herself. She stopped frequently as her fancy struck her, to smell a clump of flowers, or look at a bird flitting about among the trees. Watching her, you might have thought that she was simply lost.

Which was, in fact, what the one watching her thought. He licked his lips in anticipation of easy prey. This one looked like it would be simple to take down. It wasn't even paying attention. He crouched down, ready to pounce, when suddenly the girl turned around and looked straight at him.

"Hello? Who's there?" she called, her voice sweet and clear.

He froze, unsure of what to do. She took a few steps towards him, and he decided that further hiding was useless. He'd have to try a different approach. Standing up, he walked clear of the bushes and out onto the path. As he revealed himself, the girl gasped a little, her eyes widening.

"Oh! You're a wolf! How pretty!"

He stopped walking, and blinked at her. This was an unusual reaction. Usually when humans saw him, they turned around and ran screaming from him. He repressed the urge to chuckle. This prey might be easier to fool than he thought. He smiled at her and said, "Yes, I am just a wolf passing through this forest. I saw you and thought you looked lost. Might you be in need of help?"

The girl shook her head, and the hood covering it fell down a little, revealing long hair, with one wisp sticking straight up on the top of her head. "No, I'm just on my way to my grandmother's house. She's sick in bed, you see, and I'm taking her some food." The girl indicated her basket, and the wolf took a sniff. Indeed, it seemed like the basket contained some meat, and some other type of food as well. He tried to stop his mouth from watering and focus instead on the larger prospective meal in front of him.

"Ah, I see," he said, forcing his voice to be congenial. "And where does your grandmother live?"

The girl waved her hand vaguely. "Oh, just down this path. I've only been there a few times before, but I remember it was pretty easy to find."

The wolf paused. Here was unexpected news. She had a sick grandmother, who would undoubtedly be slower and weaker than this girl. And she was close by, even. Perhaps he should switch to this other prey. Giving his toothy grin again, he said in a syrupy voice, "Well, as long as you aren't lost. It's rather dangerous in this forest, after all. You never know when you might run into trouble."

"Oh, I'm fine! I'm sure I can find my way from here. Thanks for your concern, Mr. Wolf! See you!" She waved at him cheerfully, then turned around and began to meander down the path again.

The wolf melted back into the shadows of the forest. He silently sped alongside the path, quickly passing the oblivious girl. As he was unfamiliar with the forest, he decided to follow the girl's directions and stay next to the path. Soon, he reached a small clearing in which stood a solid little cottage. He slowed down, and approached the window cautiously, standing up on his hind legs to peer inside.

The cottage was dark, and the wolf saw no traces of anyone being at home. He sniffed the air. There was a scent of a human female, but it was faint. It appeared as if she had left her house some time ago.

He sat back down, disappointed. There went his easy lunch. Unless...the girl was still coming to the cottage. He grinned. Maybe he wouldn't have to miss out on lunch after all.

Pushing open the door of the cottage, the wolf looked around the space inside. Spying a bed, he quickly clambered into it and covered himself with the blanket as fully as he could, hoping that the girl was as airheaded as she had seemed.

A scant few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. The wolf cleared his throat, trying his best to sound like an elderly lady as he called out, "Come in."

The door creaked open. Light streamed into the room, followed by the girl with the hooded cape. She approached the bed slowly, smiling as she said, "Are you awake, Grandmother?"

Damn. She hadn't said her name. He would have to wing it. "Yes, I am. Is that you, dearie?"

"Yes, I brought you some food, Grandmother." The girl held up her basket, and the wolf tried very hard not to let himself drool. He was getting very hungry indeed.

"Put it on the table there, dearie, and come see me." He watched in anticipation as the girl set down her basket and came towards him.

As she approached, however, her steps slowed. She squinted suspiciously at the form on the bed, and said, "My, Grandmother, what big ears you have."

The wolf cast his thoughts about frantically for an explanation to his undeniably lupine features. "Uh...all the better to hear you, my dear."

Taking another cautious step forward, the girl said, "Grandmother, what big eyes you have."

He just needed her a little closer. "All the better to see you, my dear."

She took one more step, and the wolf grinned. She was within striking range. The girl gasped, "My, Grandmother what big, sharp teeth you have!"

Giving up the charade entirely, the wolf leaped from the covers and snarled, "All the better to eat you with!" He lunged.

But the girl jumped back, just as his jaws snapped in the air where her neck had been moments before. With a scream, she tore out of the cabin, and ran back down the path. Cursing his luck, the wolf struggled to disentangle himself from the blankets of the bed, howling in fury as the girl got farther and farther away.

Finally, he freed himself and ran down the path after the girl. Although his long legs ate up the ground quickly, he still didn't catch up to the girl until the end of the path. He was just in time to see her run into a gate enclosing a walled town. Snarling, he hurled himself after her, barreling through the gate and into sudden darkness.

Slowly, Fakir opened his eyes. The world was still in the blacks and greys of a wolf's vision. Blinking rapidly, he shook his head, and the world restored itself to color. Hurriedly, he looked around, hoping fervently to see a girl standing in front of him.

A questioning quack sounded from his feet. Looking down, his hope faded as he saw a small yellow duck sitting on the ground in front of him. He schooled his features so she wouldn't see his disappointment, and bent down to scoop her up into his arms. She looked up at him questioningly, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Ahiru. This was just the first try. This story didn't work, but I'm sure that I can figure something else out that will. I'll just have to write you a better story." Unconsciously, he squeezed the duck's little frame. Ahiru quacked again, and he gathered himself up, saying briskly, "Come on, let's get going home. Karon is probably wondering where we went all of a sudden."

He set his feet towards home, trying to ignore the disappointment in his heart, and the fear of his own powers. He was scared to admit that, while he had been the wolf in the story, he'd had a hard time controlling the baser instincts that went with such a character. He had barely been able to stop himself from actually trying to attack his love. He cursed himself silently as he walked. Ever since Drosselmeyer had disappeared, Fakir had been writing the stories of the people in Gold Crown Town, and hadn't had any issues with them.

Ahiru, however, was another story. He was determined to keep his promise to her, and make her back into a human. He simply couldn't bear to see the sadness in her eyes every day as she watched her friends and the other residents of the town go about their days, stuck in her spot next to him at the pond. He couldn't keep letting her be in pain, when the greatest pull of his heart was to give her anything in the world that she wanted.

He had spent over a month agonizing over the best way to do this, and had finally come up with this fairy tale story that seemed like it would work. All he had to do, he'd reasoned, was get her to enter the town as a human, and the magic of Gold Crown Town itself would do the rest. However, it seemed like that was not going to be the case. Shaking his head, he steeled his resolve. It wouldn't do to wallow in self-pity. He simply would have to try again. He began to sift through his head for new story ideas for Ahiru.

He had to find a way to change her back. He just had to.


	2. The Ugly Duckling

On a warm spring day, the duckling was hatched. It was obvious to everyone around her that she was different from the very start. All of her brothers and sisters were a lovely, golden shade of yellow that bespoke of sunshine, with soft fluffy down. The ugly duckling, on the other hand, was a dull grey, and her black beak and feet made her look even more dingy. Her mother was cold towards her, a fact that her siblings picked up on early in their young lives. They would frequently shun her, purposely leaving her out of their games, or calling her names and ignoring her when she spoke.

The ugly duckling didn't understand why she was being treated this way. She simply longed for a companion. And so, every day, she would wander along the banks of her pond home, hoping that a new friend would appear for her to play with.

One day, her mother tired of her, and chased her away from their farm home. In despair, she ran for a long time, until darkness fell and she was completely lost. She tried desperately to find her way back home, but to no avail. Eventually, as the sun began to sink below the horizon, she collapsed onto the ground in despair and cried.

As she sobbed, she heard the sounds of some ducks nearby. Sniffling, she rallied herself and moved towards the noise, hoping that her family had come back for her after all.

What she found, however, wasn't her family, but a flock of wild ducks settling in for the evening. The ugly duckling, afraid to approach them, bedded down for the night far enough away from the flock that they wouldn't notice her, but close enough that she felt some comfort from being near others. She eventually fell asleep, but spent the night resting fitfully.

In the morning, she decided to approach the other ducks. Slowly, timidly, she made her way over to where they were floating in the pond. Most of the ducks ignored her, although a few gave her disapproving glances and whispered among themselves. Nevertheless, she was allowed to settle on the pond a short distance from the group.

Thereafter, she spent her days on the fringe of the flock, generally ignored by the other birds, but vaguely tolerated nonetheless. But eventually, a small group of the adolescent ducks decided to take notice of her, and began to make comments about her appearance. They would loudly remark that such an ugly duckling had no right to be in their flock, and that she should just leave. This quickly escalated into more direct contact with her, and several times she was cornered by the other ducklings, who would yell at her and beat her with their wings. The abuse grew so bad that the duckling decided it was time to move on. Besides, winter was fast approaching, and it would do her no good if she was chased out of this flock in the middle of winter, like her mother had chased her away.

Resolute, she set off to find a quiet place where she could spend the winter by herself in peace. But every pond she came upon was already occupied by a flock of birds, and she didn't dare to try approaching any of them. Before she knew it, winter had set in, and yet she still roamed, hoping to find a safe haven.

During one particularly bad snowstorm, when the duckling had been unable to find any food for quite some time, she collapsed in the snow. When she awoke, she was inside of a small house, wrapped up in a blanket next to a fire. Startled, she looked around, and noticed that there was an old woman seated in a rocking chair next to the fire, nodding off to sleep. In her lap sat an orange tabby cat, who glared down at her from his perch. Quickly, the duckling looked away, but she still felt his eyes boring into her.

The old woman proved to be very kind. She had found the duckling when she had been outside looking for food, and had brought her back to the little house. Slowly, the duckling was nursed back to health, and although she basked in the attention of the old woman, the cat was always there in the shadows, watching. The duckling had come to recognize the look of hatred from others, and knew that one day she would have to deal with the hatred of the cat.

That day came as soon as she was fully healed and walking around again. The cat waited until the old woman had gone to bed in the evening before he cornered the ugly duckling and threatened to eat her if she did not leave and stop putting a strain on the old woman. Although she was sorry to leave such a warm home, the duckling was grieved at the thought that she might have caused the old woman hardship, and scared to keep staying with the clearly hostile tabby cat. Reluctantly, she agreed to leave, and trudged back out into the cold of winter.

She wandered aimlessly after that, eventually getting lucky and finding a cave on the edge of an uninhabited pond. There she waited out the winter in solitude, telling herself that it was better if such an ugly duckling as herself was alone.

Then one day she heard the familiar sound of bird calls out on her pond. Exiting the cave cautiously to investigate, she was startled to notice that the air outside was tinged with warmth, and the smell of budding flowers hung in the air. Without her even noticing, spring had come again. She peeked out onto the pond and saw that the bird calls had come from a flock of beautiful white birds. This must be their pond that they were returning to after the winter.

Despair overtook the ugly duckling. She couldn't face the prospect of giving up her home yet again. She looked again at the beautiful birds, and decided that she would approach them. They might allow her to stay on the pond with them, ugly though she was. Or they might kill her for being so distastefully malformed. Resigned, she walked to the edge of the water, gathered her courage, and stepped in.

As she entered, the water rose around her in rivets, streaming upwards to engulf her form until she was encased in an orb of water. Inside, she felt her body change, elongate, and grow. She was set back down gently at the edge of the pond, and the water fell away from her in cascades. Perplexed, she looked down at her reflection in the pond, and gasped.

She had long, gangly legs, and her wings had been traded for arms. Her feathers had fallen away, leaving her skin bare, except for a patch of fiery orange on the top of her head. She looked, in fact, not unlike the old woman and the farmer on the farm where she had been hatched.

She was human.

Fakir extracted himself from the story. The task was easier this time, since he hadn't been directly involved in it as a character. When he had recovered himself fully, he turned around, looking for the spot on the floor where he had left Ahiru.

She looked up at him, and quacked.

His heart sank. So this attempt hadn't worked either. Shoving down his disappointment, he smiled at Ahiru and bent forward to pick her up, depositing her in his lap. Leaning his head back against his chair, he sighed. He had thought that perhaps his involvement in the story had been what had gone wrong last time, but that didn't appear to be the case. Ahiru had been essentially the only character in the story, and her transformation still hadn't stuck when she returned to the real world. Honestly, Fakir was a little relieved. He had been very anxious sending her into a story alone, and since that hadn't worked, it meant he was free to accompany her next time. Although he wasn't a knight anymore, the insatiable need to protect Ahiru reminded himself why he had been cast into the role in the first place. It was similar to the need he had felt to protect Mytho, but deeper, more tangible.

At first that need had confused him. He hadn't understood why he would feel such a deep desire to protect one particular girl, especially such an annoying and nosy girl. Eventually, he had come to understand why as his feelings for Ahiru had developed, until he had realized shortly before their final battle with the raven that he was hopelessly in love with her.

The realization did him no good, though. He knew that she still loved Mytho. The reminder was there every time she became Princess Tutu, a physical manifestation of her love for another man. Fakir had steadfastly sealed his love away in his heart, and focused on the battle before them, until the day he had sent Mytho and Rue back into their story. And every day since then, he had sealed his feelings under a new lock, in the name of turning Ahiru back into a human. Even after he managed to do that, he probably wouldn't say anything, though. After all, it wasn't as if her feelings for Mytho were going to evaporate. She had been willing to die for the prince, willing to turn human and back for him. There was no way she would ever have feelings for Fakir, and he knew it. Still, he couldn't help but love her fiercely, a love that drove him to frantically search for a way to make her human again

His thoughts were interrupted by a small quack from his lap. Looking down at Ahiru, he smiled and said, "I'm sorry it didn't work this time, either. I thought if I sent you into the story by yourself the transformation would stick. But it looks like that wasn't the problem, so I'll be going with you again next time. You know, just to keep an eye on you." He looked away from her, hoping she wouldn't sense the desperate feelings behind his declaration.

Softly, she butted her head against his arm, and he looked back down at her, feeling himself smile against his will. "We'll try again really soon," he murmured.


	3. The Prince and the Frog

Once there lived an arrogant, spoiled prince. He was an only child, and was doted on rather too much by his father the king, receiving whatever he wanted. As he grew older, this upbringing made itself evident in his behavior. He treated those around him as if they were worthless, and never said a kind word to anyone. His father the king began to despair of his son's behavior, and became worried about leaving the kingdom in the hands of this selfish young man.

One day, the prince was out in the castle's courtyard, sitting next to the well and idly fiddling with a golden egg-shaped ball he had been given as a gift. He rather favored the trinket, often playing with it during the many meetings and court appointments that bored him so. He tossed it into the air, but missed catching it on the way down, and it fell into the well, clattering loudly as it went.

Dismayed, the prince stared down into the well, and cried out, "My ball! Oh, no, if only I could get it back again, I would give all of my fine clothes and jewels!"

A small duck that he hadn't noticed before flapped up onto the well beside him, and spoke. "Prince, I don't need clothes or jewels, but I can get your ball back for you. In exchange, I ask that you would take me back to the castle with you to live, and let me eat off your plate and sleep next to you on your pillow, and be my friend."

The prince stared at the little duck. She was clearly capable of retrieving his ball, but he certainly didn't want her anywhere near him, let alone his bed. But then again, she was merely a duck. Who said that he would have to honor their agreement after he had his ball back? He could simply use her to get what he wanted, then leave her in the courtyard. He simpered, "Oh, little duck, of course I will give you whatever you want, if you would only get my ball back for me."

The duck nodded, and said, "Don't forget your promise once I've gotten it back." The prince felt a little twinge of guilt as the duck hopped down into the well.

She came back up out of the water quickly, and flapped out of the well, holding the golden ball in her beak. She deposited it on the wall, and stopped to catch her breath.

The prince snatched the ball up, turned around, and ran for the castle. Behind him, he heard the duck calling out to him in protest, but he paid her no mind. He had gotten back what he wanted, and had no further use for a dirty little duck. In fact, he forgot all about her until later that evening, when he was sitting down to dinner with his father, and heard a strange sound at the window. He looked outside, and there she was, beating her wings against one of the many glass windows lining the hall.

His father looked up too, and saw her. "What in the world is that duck doing outside our window?"

The little duck, having drawn their attention, perched on the windowsill and spoke through the glass. "Prince, please let me in. You promised that you would bring me back to your castle with you, and let me eat from your plate and sleep in your bed and be your friend."

The king looked at the prince. "Is this true?"

The prince fidgeted uncomfortably, and looked away.

The old king grinned. "Hmm. It appears my brat of a son has made a promise to you that he had no intention of keeping. But, as the king, I say that he shall be made to keep it. It will make things quite interesting."

In dismay, the prince snapped his head up to protest, but stopped when he saw the wicked gleam of delight in the old king's eyes. Something within him told him that the gleam was familiar. That he had seen it somewhere before, and it was imperative that he remember where.

Before he could grasp onto that string of thought in his brain, the king gestured for a servant to open the window, and the little yellow duck flapped awkwardly through it and into the hall. She landed on the floor in a gangly pile, and waddled over to the prince's chair. He stared down at her in horror as she hopped up onto the table next to him and asked brightly, "What are we having for dinner?"

The prince darted a glance at his father, and saw there would be no help coming from him. He glared at the duck and grumbled, "Help yourself. I'm done."

"Really? Thanks!" The duck happily dipped her beak down and began eating. She seemed to enjoy the rich meal immensely, making little happy noises as she ate. The prince watched her with a mixture of disgust and amusement. She certainly was an entertaining little thing, at the very least.

When she had finished, she looked up at him expectantly. "What should we do now, Prince?"

"What do you mean, what should we do? You already ate my dinner, what else do you want from me?" He stood up from the table and began walking out of the hall.

The little duck flapped after him with an indignant quack. "You can't get mad about that, you told me I could eat it! And besides, that was part of our agreement that you would share your meals with me!"

The prince walked a little faster, hoping he could outpace her.

"Hey, wait for me!" the little duck panted. "Where are you going, anyway?"

He glared down at her. "I'm going to bed," he snapped, hoping to get away from her by feigning exhaustion.

"Oh, that's perfect! Then I can sleep on your pillow next to you!"

The prince stifled a groan. He'd forgotten that part of the promise. He stopped for a moment, looking down at the eager little duck next to him. Her eyes shone up at him hopefully, and he felt his grumpy facade waver. Sighing, he relented, "All right, you win. Let's go to bed." Spontaneously, he reached down and scooped her up. Surprisingly, the weight of the little duck in his arms felt reassuring, and somehow familiar. He ignored the feeling, though, and walked to his suite of rooms in the castle.

After he had prepared himself for bed, he turned to the little duck to help her up. Instead, he saw that she had already made herself at home, and was fast asleep on his pillow. Smiling despite himself, the prince gingerly climbed into bed, laid his head on the pillow next to her, and drifted off to sleep.

But when he awoke in the morning, the duck next to him had changed into a girl.

Fakir removed himself from the story with some difficulty. The ending of it begged to be written: why was the duck now a girl, how would the prince react to this discovery, why had she been a duck in the first place, and so on with endless questions. However, this point was exactly where he wanted to end it, for this was where his duck changed back into a human. Having successfully exited the story, he opened his eyes.

He sucked in his breath when he saw Ahiru in front of him, still a duck. He turned back to his desk and buried his face in his hands, trying not to show her his discouragement. Where had he gone wrong this time? Had his control over the story not been good enough still? He'd noticed that he had started to lose control over the characters partway through the story. They had acted entirely too much like their actual selves, and not enough like a stuck-up prince and a cursed princess. Could it be that he simply didn't have the talent, the willpower to turn Ahiru back into a girl? Would he be stuck, loving a duck forever, with no chance of having his love returned?

With a concerned quack, Ahiru flapped awkwardly up into his lap. Uncovering his eyes, he smiled sadly down at her. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm just tired, don't worry about me."

Using her wing, Ahiru quacked and pointed over at his bed.

He scooped her up with a sigh. "All right, you win. Let's go to bed." Smiling, he realized that it was exactly what he had said as the prince in the story. He glanced down at Ahiru. "Hey, do you want to sleep on my pillow for real this time?"

Happily, she nodded and fluttered over to his bed, settling herself down comfortably on his pillow. Chuckling, Fakir joined her, not even bothering to change his clothes, as he suddenly found he really was quite exhausted.

As he drifted off to sleep, he looked at Ahiru, and hoped that maybe she would actually be a girl again when he woke up.


	4. Beauty and the Beast

There once was a prince whose parents had died. The prince, growing up without their guidance, became very spoiled, and became selfish and unkind. The servants who had raised him began to despair, and longed for him to change back into the sweet child they had once known.

Then one stormy night, an old man came to the door of the castle and asked to see the lord. The prince came, displeased to be summoned. The old man begged the prince to let him stay the night, and offered in exchange a single red rose. The prince scoffed at him, and called for him to be taken away. But at that moment, he turned into a radiant fairy and cast a spell upon the prince for his unkindness. The prince was transformed into a hideous beast, and the entire castle and everyone living in it was also enchanted. The fairy took the rose he had offered as payment and cast it into the castle's garden, where it turned into a thriving rose bush. The fairy told the prince that, in order to break the spell, he must get another to say words of love to him before the last petal of the last rose fell.

Years passed, and the curse took hold of the castle. The walls crumbled and rotted, the prince closed himself off to the world, and the servants began to give up hope of the curse ever being broken. Until one day when a young girl ventured into the castle, and into his life.

The day had already grown dim when the prince heard a knock on the door. He had been about to sit down to the dinner that had been prepared by his servants, but at the knock, he froze. It had been years since anyone had dared to come visit the castle. Who could have possibly come after all this time?

As he was trying to puzzle this out, he heard the front door open. A trembling voice called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Panicking, the prince ran out of the room, quiet as a cat on the pads of his paws. He exited just in time, as he heard the person enter the dining room. A small gasp of delight was heard, and then the voice called again, "Hello? Is anyone going to eat this? I am lost, and would love to be able to have a warm meal."

The prince's curiosity overcame him, and he peeked cautiously around the door of the dining room. Standing in front of the fireplace was a girl. She seemed quite lost, looking around her as if someone was going to jump out at any moment and admit that they had been hiding as a joke. The prince watched her, vaguely interested despite himself. It had been some time since he had seen another human enter the castle. And, besides, she was quite pretty, with her trim form and long hair, fiery orange with a single strand standing up defiantly on the top.

The words of the fairy resounded in his mind, and he remembered the rose bush. It only had a few flowers left. If he was going to get someone to fall in love with him, wasn't this girl probably his last chance? With this thought in the back of his mind, he continued to watch her as she sat down and began to eat. He was fascinated by her boldness. Or perhaps it was just stupidity? He wasn't really sure. Either way, it was certainly entertaining to observe this girl as she ate her fill. When she was done, she got up to explore more of the castle.

The prince trailed a little ways behind her as she poked her head into a few rooms on the first floor of the castle, occasionally calling out to see if she could find any inhabitants. The servants, however, knew their master's dining preferences, and had long since vacated the area where he might be eating. Since the curse had turned him into an ugly beast, he hated being seen by others. Being around others was a painful reminder that he was now as ugly as he had once been handsome.

Eventually, the girl seemed to grow tired of the castle and wandered out into the darkening castle grounds. She wove her way into the garden, with the prince following behind as a silent shadow, observing her curious movements.

Finally, the girl stopped at the enchanted roses. She leaned forward and sniffed a rose, smiling brightly at the smell. Then she reached out and plucked it from the bush.

The prince's heart seized with fear. She was destroying the only thing that could turn him and his servants back to normal! With a roar, he leapt from his place in the shadows and descended upon the frightened girl. "Who are you, and why are you stealing my roses?"

Trembling, she dropped the bloom as if it were a hot coal, staring up at him wide-eyed. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to steal it! I-I mean, I did mean to pick it, but I didn't think…"

"You didn't think taking something that's not yours would be stealing?" the prince roared. He felt a little twinge of guilt at her blatant fear, but ignored it. "How do you plan to repay me for that rose?"

"I-I didn't really think of that...I mean, it's just a flower, I thought…"

The prince loomed over the girl, "You have no idea what harm you may have caused just now, and yet you dare to call it just a flower?"

Trembling, the girl stammered, "I-I'm sorry, I really didn't mean any harm. Please, is there any way I can make it up to you?"

She looked up at him with tearful eyes, and the prince saw his opportunity. Perhaps he could convince her… "Well, I suppose there is one thing," he said slowly.

"Anything, I promise!"

The girl was clearly terrified. _Well, who wouldn't be terrified of a hideous beast_, the prince thought bitterly. He gathered himself up and used his best imposing voice. "You will stay here with me in this castle, for the rest of your life."

The girl blinked up at him. "What?"

The prince's resolve faltered. What kind of crazy person would agree to this deal? But this was his last hope. He continued, "You must stay with me here in my castle. As my prisoner!" He added the last part hastily, trying to divert her attention away from the absurdness of his request. In reality, he had been alone in the castle for a very long time, particularly since he had banned his servants from looking upon his face. Even if this girl wasn't the one who could break his spell, he sorely desired company. But admitting to that seemed pathetic. Calling her his prisoner was much less desperate, and would perhaps make her understand the severity of what she had done.

To his surprise, the girl looked up at him and nodded. "Yes. I understand that I intruded into your home, and destroyed something valuable. And now I must pay. You may lead me to my cell." Hanging her head, she awaited her fate.

Dumbfounded, the prince protested, "But...aren't you afraid of spending the rest of your life with a hideous beast?"

The girl looked up at him. "No, the way you look doesn't scare me."

The prince's heart squeezed, and he felt hope rising in his chest. Maybe, if she could look past his appearance...he tried to push it down, and said gruffly, "Well, then, I'll lead you to your chambers." Brusquely, he turned around and strode towards the castle.

Behind him, the girl trotted to catch up until she was walking abreast of him, struggling to match his long stride. "What do you mean, chambers?" she asked, clearly puzzled. "I thought you said I was a prisoner."

Not looking at her, the prince growled, "You _are_ my prisoner. I just don't see the need to lock you up in some jail cell when I have so many spare rooms here. I'll put you in one next to mine, and then you'll be more secure than in any cell."

The girl looked up at him with curiosity. "Why? Is your hearing really good? Or maybe your sense of smell? Do you have animal senses?"

Startled, the prince looked down at her. This girl really seemed to have no boundaries. Not that there was any harm in answering her questions. "I do hear and smell better than when...better than a human."

"Oh. So there really isn't any way for me to escape you, is there?" she asked, a bit too brightly for her predicament, the prince thought.

"No, there isn't," he replied simply.

"That's fine. I plan to repay my debt. My father taught me that it's very important to do so."

Ah, she had a father. This might pose a problem. The old man might come looking for her, or she might try to escape back to him at some point. Gruffly, the prince asked, "Do you and your father live near here?"

In a subdued voice, the girl answered, "No, we don't. My father died some time ago, and I've been alone ever since, wandering from place to place. So I suppose it's just as well that I have somewhere to be now."

The prince looked down at her, and was surprised to feel a stab of pity for the girl. He'd never cared much for the feelings and affairs of others before, but for some reason this girl triggered a lot of interest in him. Trying to distract both of them from unpleasant feelings, he gestured down the hallway they were walking along. "Your room is right this way."

She craned around him, obvious interest showing in every line of her body. "Oh, which door is it? Is it that one? There are so many doors here, it's hard to guess! I'll probably get lost all the time."

The prince regarded her, chest stirring with strange emotions. After a moment of silence, he pointed to a door just ahead of them. "It's this one," he responded, and taking the last few steps down the hall, threw the door open.

Peering around him into the dusty room, the girl gasped. The prince shuffled into the room and lit the sconces from the candelabra he'd been using to light their way. Gruffly, he said, "I know it's not much, but I'll get the servants to come clean it up for you, and it will look a little better tomorrow."

"What do you mean? It's wonderful! And look, the bed is so huge!" she gushed. The prince watched her, bemused, as she flitted around the room, taking everything in. She certainly didn't seem to be very distressed by her situation. The prince decided that he should allow her time to settle in, and shuffled back towards the door.

"I'll be heading to my own room for the evening. I'll send some servants to attend to you in the morning."

"Wait! I want to see where your room is!" For someone so small, the girl certainly bounded quickly across the room. Taken aback a bit, the prince gestured behind him to the door across the hall. "Those are my chambers. I'll be right near you, as I said, so I'll know if you try to break our agreement."

The girl nodded. "I understand, of course. Well, good night then. Oh, and thank you for the lovely room."

Unsure of what to say, the prince merely grunted in response and retreated hurriedly across the hallway, nearly slamming his door shut behind him. Once inside, he leaned against the door and sighed. What trouble had he gotten himself into now?

The next few days brought answers to this question. The girl proved to be incorrigible, and seemed to be everywhere in the castle at once. The rooms that had been darkened and unused for years seemed to breathe with a new life as she flitted around from one place to another. The prince himself was almost worn down to the point of exhaustion after just a few days. The girl never seemed to tire, always asking with shining eyes what was behind this door, or what was over there. The only place they did not explore thoroughly was the garden. She seemed leery of it after being chastened over the rose, and did not ask to go there, although the prince caught her more than once looking longingly outside. She never once complained though, and didn't even question the fact that every day, her needs were tended to by people that she never once saw. The prince thought that perhaps she was just too stupid to notice, until one day one of the servants walked past them in a corridor carrying a tray. The girl nodded politely to the invisible holder of the tray, and continued talking brightly to the prince as they headed down the hallway. He was dumbfounded. Who was this girl, that the curse of the castle didn't faze her at all? She'd had no more reaction to his invisible servants than she had to his hideously deformed figure.

Days blended into weeks, weeks into months, and the presence of the girl became like oxygen to the prince. He began to wonder what he had ever done without her bright presence filling every corner of his castle. Everyone seemed to forget that she was supposed to be a prisoner, and the prince himself forgot that he had planned to use her to break the curse. Instead, he simply fell helplessly in love with her. He found himself thinking about her all the time, and going out of his way to do things to make her happy. When he found out she liked books, he arranged one of their daily explorations to go past the castle's vast library. He noticed that she favored sweet things, and made sure that there was a dessert with every meal they had. When the weather began to turn crisp and he noticed her shivering, he dug out one of his mother's furs and placed in on the coat rack so that the girl would find it.

But this wasn't the only change brought about by the colder weather. The enchanted rose bush started to wither.

The prince was aghast. He hadn't expected the rose to die so soon. He had watched over it for years, painstakingly trying every remedy he could find in the castle's library to extend its life, but it appeared that all his efforts had come to nothing. In the end, it wasn't of any use if she didn't love him back. And, even more terrifyingly, as the rose's strength faded, so did the prince's. Each day that wore on saw him weaken a little bit more, as if the rose was trying to sap his strength to stay alive. And all he could do was watch as the petals of the rose bush faded away.

One cold day in winter, the prince went out to the garden and noted that the last rose had lost a petal during the night, and had only a single petal left. He knew that this was the day that the curse would take hold. Truthfully, he had hardly needed to go out to the garden to find out this information. He had awoken so weak that he could barely muster the energy to put on a brave front for the girl. As he stood, staring at the rose bush, only one thought came to his mind.

He had to protect the girl.

He had no delusions about her feelings for him. He knew that, no matter how pure and quaintly vibrant she was, there was no way that she could love him. He did know, however, that she held some fondness for the castle that she had come to lovingly call home in the past months. He also knew that she was much more sensitive than her bubbly exterior would lead one to believe. He had found her one time, sobbing in the courtyard over a small bird's lifeless body. He didn't know how the curse would affect him, and he certainly didn't want her there to witness what his body told him might very well be the end of his days.

He cast about for some way to get her to leave. As he was contemplating what to do, he was startled by a voice at his elbow. He looked down to find the girl looking up at him, uncharacteristic uncertainty in her eyes. "Are you all right?" she asked in an almost tremulous voice.

He'd have to come up with something now, it seemed. "Ah, yes. I'm fine," he answered in a gruff voice. She looked unconvinced, but he ignored that and continued, "Actually, I have something I need you to do for me, though."

Her face brightened a bit. "Oh, you do? What is it? I'd be happy to help you!"

Her energetic response made his heart ache a bit. He ignored it and asked, "Do you see this rose bush?"

Cautiously, she nodded. "Yes, the one that I picked a flower from."

The prince felt a pang at the way he had treated her upon their first meeting, but in a voice that he forced to sound bland, he simply responded, "Yes. As you can see, it is dying. I have tried everything in my power to stop it, but it simply isn't enough. As you know, this rose bush is...important to me. Therefore, I'd like you to go into town and try to find something that can help cure it."

She blinked up at him. "Me?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"But...why me? Why would you trust me to do something so important?"

He laughed bitterly. "Well, you can hardly expect me to be able to go into a human town with this appearance. I'd be lucky if the worst thing that happened to me was people running away screaming."

The girl propped herself up on her tiptoes and gently placed her hand on his cheek. "I don't see why you're so hard on yourself. You just look like yourself. There's nothing to be ashamed of." He stared at her, unable to breathe for a moment. Then she broke the moment by settling back down and propping her hands on her hips. "Well, I know you're not comfortable going into town though, so I guess I'll have to do it for you! As long as you promise to wait here for me to get back, and don't go running around too much by yourself."

The prince studied her carefully. What did she mean by that? Had she noticed that he had been growing weaker? He had tried so hard to hide it from her, but she always seemed oddly perceptive when it came to him. Well, he supposed that just happened when you lived with another person.

In answer to her, the prince nodded and said, "Yes, I promise. Now please, you must go quickly. I am worried the rose will die soon."

"Right away! I'll go get my things and head out to find help! You can count on me!" She scurried off towards the castle, bustling with excitement at being given an important task. Chuckling, the prince sat down on a bench and watched her go, loving every line of her figure. He was satisfied that the task he had given her was vague enough to take her some time to complete. By the time she found a cure for the rose bush, whatever had taken place with the curse would already be long done. Besides, once she got back into a town with other humans, she'd likely forget him anyway. She'd settle down into the normal life she should have been leading, and then she'd be truly happy.

Satisfied with his arrangement for the girl's future, he laid down on the bench, watching the last petal through bleary eyes. He felt satisfied. He had taken care of the thing that was most important to him. He allowed his eyes to shut, and felt his body let go, as if it had given him permission to rest from the curse at last.

Suddenly, the solemn calm of the air around him was shattered by a scream. He fought to open his heavy eyes again, and saw the girl running towards him. He struggled to sit up, but only succeeded in falling off the bench in his weakened state. The girl reached him, and dropped to her knees in the dirt next to him, throwing her arms around his head. He asked faintly, "Why aren't you gone? You're supposed to be leaving, stupid girl."

She lifted his head gently and shifted her legs so that they were positioned underneath him, offering them as a pillow. She protested, "How was I supposed to leave without saying goodbye to you? And then I come out here and you're lying down, not even breathing! I knew you were sick lately, but I didn't think it was this bad! What's happening to you? And why won't you talk to me about it?" Tears began to drip down her face as she cradled his head.

Stunned, he stared up at her, not able to summon the words to explain.

A chuckle came from above them. "I can answer that, young lady."

His hackles rose, and the prince looked up to see the source of the voice.

It was the fairy. He looked as if he hadn't aged at all since the day he had placed the curse on the castle. The prince growled deep in his throat, trying his best to sit up. "Leave her alone," he managed to grind out, although he couldn't summon enough strength to really move. The girl held him tighter in her grip, and he sensed fear through her hold.

The fairy chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not here for her. I'm here to collect on the little spell I cast on you all those years ago. It looks like the last rose is about to die, so your time has run out."

The prince gasped, "What do you mean, collect?"

"Oh, so you don't remember the terms of the spell?" The fairy clicked his tongue, his crafty smile belying his words. "Such a shame. Well, allow me to remind you. Since you have failed to break the spell, I am now entitled to your life in exchange."

The girl's arms became almost suffocating around him. "What? No, you can't! How could you do such a thing to him?"

Although her voice trembled, the prince noted with a mixture of exasperation and pride that the girl was still as vocal as ever about her opinions. "Shut up," he managed to gasp at her. It wouldn't do if she drew the wrath of the clearly mad fairy. There was no telling what might happen to her.

The fairy, however, just laughed. "How do you think fairies live such a long time? Now stand aside girl, I have a debt to collect," he crowed.

Defiantly, the girl screamed at the fairy, "I won't! You can't take him! I won't let you do anything to him, I love him!"

The prince and the fairy both froze, but it was the fairy who found his voice first. "What was that you said?" he demanded.

She barrelled on, "I said I love him, and you can't have him!"

At her words, the prince's body had begun to feel strange. He recognized the feeling from the time, years ago, when he had been cursed. His body began to burn, and then ache, and then he felt his bones and skin shift, and he cried out with the pain. The girls' attention snapped back to him, and she looked down at him in horror. "What's wrong? What's going on?" She glared at the fairy through tear-filled eyes and demanded, "What did you do to him?"

The fairy screamed back at her, "I didn't do anything, you idiot! You're the one who ruined everything! You weren't supposed to tell him that you love him! Now all of this scheming was for nothing! I thought I had found easy prey by locating a prince, since they're always so selfish. But you had to go and ruin it! This isn't interesting at all!" In a puff of smoke, the fairy vanished.

His words triggered something in the prince's memory. He knew that he was forgetting something important about those words. Something in his mind screamed at him that he was forgetting something important, forgetting who he was. What was he supposed to remember about this man? About himself? Panting, he struggled to sit up, but instead was thrown back down from the pain with a cry. The girl's worried face bent over him, and she wailed, "Are you all right? Please, say something to me! What can I do?"

He opened his mouth to reassure her, but all that came out was a cry of pain. He gritted his teeth against the pain, and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to watch the turmoil on the girl's face.

Eventually, the pain stopped. He opened his eyes slowly, and the girl's shocked face filled his vision. She asked in a whisper, "What happened?"

Reaching up, the prince felt his face. Smooth skin met his fingers, not the rugged fur he had grown accustomed to. He locked eyes with the girl, and whispered, "Am I human again?"

She nodded, clearly shocked.

He realized that all his energy had returned, and that realization brought the awareness that he was still laying on the girl's lap. Embarrassed, he squirmed out of her hold and sat up, facing her, yet afraid to look directly at her face. "I guess you're probably confused by all this," he said.

"Yes, I am! I want to know what's going on!"

The hurt in her voice made him look at her, and to his dismay he saw that tears were still trickling down her cheeks. Timidly, he reached out and wiped them away as he began to speak. "Well, as the fairy said...I'm a prince. He came here in disguise years ago, asking for shelter in exchange for a rose, and...well, I turned him away. Then he transformed, and cursed me and the rest of the castle. He said that if I didn't receive words of love from someone by the time the last petal fell…well, you saw what he was trying to do. And then...you came along, and I thought maybe you would break the spell, so I came up with a reason to keep you here. But then I…I fell in love with you, and I just wanted you to be happy. So I tried to send you away so that you wouldn't see all of that…" Lamely, he waved around at the garden, trying to indicate the scene with the fairy.

The girl burst out, "How could you try to do that to me?"

Ashamed, the prince hung his head. "I know. I'm sorry that I imprisoned you here. I understand if you want to leave."

Exasperated, she protested, "No, that's not what I meant. Why would you try to send me away?"

Confused, the prince responded, "I just wanted to protect you!"

"I don't need you to make decisions for me! Didn't you hear me tell the fairy? I love you! I want to be with you! Stop trying to push me away!" the girl cried.

Looking up, the prince saw her passionate face, and couldn't help himself. He reached out and yanked her into his chest, cradling her there, reveling in the feeling of holding her. He bent his face down and mumbled into her hair, "Do you really love me?"

The girl mumbled angrily, "Of course I do. Wasn't that what broke the curse?"

He laughed. She had a point there. "Well, I love you, too. So can we start over? I want you to stay here with me. Please."

He felt the smile in her voice as she replied, "Yes, of course. Forever."

Unnoticed by the two of them, the rose bush shone, as bloom after bloom grew on it.

This time, it was a bit easier to extract himself from the story. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that he had started to remember himself at the end. He opened his eyes, hoping to see the girl that he loved in this world cradled on his chest…

...and found that, as usual, he was holding a duck.

He dropped his head down over her with a heavy sigh, ignoring her concerned quacks. He had known that this story would be a long shot, since he had been the one transforming into a human during the story. It had been a last-ditch attempt to make the transformation route work, and it obviously had failed.

His thoughts swirled around in his head. Was this his fault because his control over the characters wasn't good enough? He couldn't even control himself well enough to stay in character until the end of the story.

But the thing that bothered him the most was the fact that he had recognized the fairy. He'd had the same feeling the last time he had attempted to write a story for Ahiru, about a month prior. He'd felt that the king in that story had seemed familiar, but he had written off the feeling as his lack of control over his writing. But now...there was something that just wasn't right. He knew that he recognized the fairy.

Ahiru, apparently tired of being ignored, nipped his nose sharply.

Fakir yanked his head up, crying out in pain. "Ah! You idiot, that hurt!" he protested, holding one hand over his nose. She glared back at him, unapologetic. He sighed. Even when she couldn't talk, he couldn't win against her. "All right, I'm sorry. I was feeling sorry for myself, when you're the one who…" He shook his shoulders, trying to physically shake off the feeling of failure. "At any rate, it's night time. Should we have dinner? Or are you tired?" Ahiru quacked at him, and fluttered off towards the kitchen. He began following her, when memory struck him and he realized who it was that he had been seeing in his stories.

It was unmistakable. Drosselmeyer.


	5. Sleeping Beauty

Once there lived a young king and queen. For many years they had no children, until finally the queen gave birth to a lively girl. The entire kingdom rejoiced, and gathered together to celebrate the birth of their new princess. Three fairies were invited to the celebration, and the first two bestowed gifts upon her: one gave the gift of lasting beauty, the other the gift of song. The third fairy raised her wand to bestow her gift, when she was interrupted by the arrival of a fourth fairy. He was the king of the fairies, and he was very angry at not being invited to the celebration. He cast upon the baby princess a curse: On her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. After announcing this, the fairy king disappeared as abruptly as he had come, leaving the young king and queen distraught in his wake. But at that moment, the third fairy came forward and proclaimed that she could modify the curse. The princess would not die upon pricking her finger, but merely sleep until she was awakened by true love's kiss.

Her parents were not comforted by this. They begged the three fairies to help their daughter, and to keep her safe until she turned sixteen. They sent her away to live in the forest with the fairies, and sent out a proclamation that all spinning wheels in the kingdom were to be burned.

As the child grew, she knew nothing of this. She was raised by the three fairies, living the free life of a forest child, never questioning her absent parents. She played with the animals in the woods, and grew prettier with each passing day. She grew older, and soon stood on the cusp of adulthood. The fairies began to relax a little, knowing that their time to care for the princess would soon be over.

Around this time, the princess encountered a young man in the woods. He was riding his horse through the woods and had stopped to water it in the nearby stream when he saw unmistakable movement among the trees. He turned his head just in time to see a pretty face, and then she was gone, a flash of orange hair all that he could distinguish among the shade of the forest. The young man was stunned, and also intrigued. Who was this wild beauty who had run away at the sight of him? He searched the area for her, but soon gave up and went home.

The next day, however, he returned to the same spot, hoping to catch sight of the girl. He dismounted his horse and settled in by the stream to wait.

His efforts were soon rewarded, as he soon saw the pretty face peering at him quizzically. He leapt up quickly, exclaiming, "Please, don't run away! I won't harm you!"

The princess stopped and looked at him with open suspicion. "My aunts say that I should never talk to strangers, particularly men," she responded, looking him over.

"Your aunts sound like wise women," the young man said. "But what if we talked and got to know each other? Then we would not be strangers. Maybe we could be friends."

The princess's face brightened at this. "Oh, a friend! I've always wanted a friend!" she exclaimed. She emerged from the woods, walking over to where he was sitting, and took a place on the ground near him, smiling at him trustingly.

Thus began their daily conversations by the stream. Every day, the young man looked forward to meeting with her, and every day he fell in love with her a little more. As each day passed, he also became aware of a feeling that all of these things he was learning about the girl, each new conversation, was in fact a repeated experience for him. He couldn't shake off the feeling of this all being very familiar to him, and yet he couldn't put his finger on why that was.

But before he had a chance to puzzle it out, there came a day when the princess did not come to the stream at their regular time. The young man waited for some time, but then he became concerned, and decided that he should search her out and make sure nothing was wrong. He set off in the general direction the princess had told him she lived, and eventually he found a cottage. He was disheartened to see that it looked dark, and inactive. Still, he dismounted his horse, went up the little path, and knocked on the door.

But the one who answered his knock wasn't the princess at all, but a stern-looking woman. The young man was surprised, but greeted the woman politely, "Hello. Are you perhaps one of the aunts I have heard about?"

She looked him over critically before replying, "Yes, I am a fairy. You would do well to remember that. I take it you are then young man that has been disturbing our young charge as of late?"

The young man's temper flared, but he managed to answer in a polite, if cold, voice, "If by disturbing you mean befriending, then yes, that is me."

The fairy looked at him disdainfully. "Well, either way, you are too late."

He felt a jolt of fear. "What do you mean, too late?"

The fairy said haughtily, "That girl is actually a princess. She was only here until her sixteenth birthday, and since that is today, she has gone back to the castle where she was born to meet her parents. She is far beyond the reach of a stripling like you."

The young man was taken aback. "Wait, you mean to say that she is really the princess who was cursed by the fairy king?"

The fairy looked at him sharply. "Yes, she was, but how would you know that? The king and queen never told anyone of that."

He exclaimed, "I was there! My family was invited to the celebration of her birth. I wasn't very old at the time, but I remember all of it."

"But only royalty and a select few nobles were invited! Surely you can't be…"

"Yes, I'm the prince of the neighboring country," the young man snapped. "But that isn't what's important right now. Why is she being allowed to return before her birthday? There's still a chance the curse could take effect!"

The fairy scoffed. "Be realistic, young str-young prince. There haven't been any spinning wheels in the land in nearly sixteen years. How could she possibly get hurt now?"

"That's beside the point!" the prince snarled. "Don't you understand who you're dealing with? I would think, being fairies yourselves, you'd understand the power of the fairy king!" Exasperated, he turned on his heel. "I have no time for your stupidity. I have to go find her before it's too late." Ignoring the outraged gasp of the fairy behind him, he quickly strode over to his horse, turning its head towards the direction of the castle.

He rode as fast as he could, hoping in his heart that he would make it in time. As he drew within sight of the castle walls, he barked at the guards to confirm his identity, demanding passage. Luckily for him, they recognized him quickly, and allowed him inside.

He could immediately tell that something was wrong. Everyone in the castle was buzzing, congregating towards a side chamber. Instinctively, he leapt off his mount and followed the hub of activity, yelling at everyone to get out of his way. Eventually he burst into a bedchamber, and saw a sight that froze his heart:

The princess, lying lifeless on the floor.

A strangled cry ripped from his chest, and he started to dart over to her, stopping short when he saw that a figure stood over her. Turning around with an impressive swish of his crimson cape, the prince saw a face that he remembered from his youth.

The fairy king smiled broadly at him and crowed, "Ah, at last the prince has graced us with his presence! But, oh dear, aren't you a bit late? It seems that the princess has already pricked her finger, and awaits death. There is nothing you can do now, is there?"

His grin widened, and the prince's neck hair prickled. He glared at the fairy king and drew his sword. "Get away from her, Drosselmeyer," he growled. After he spoke, he paused a little, blinking in confusion. Who was Drosselmeyer? Where had that name come from?

The fairy king chuckled. "Certainly, young prince. You are welcome to her body. I simply wanted to be here to see your reaction. It really is most interesting, when the story progresses like this." Emitting a high-pitched giggle, he said, "Well, I suppose I'll be on my way now. Nothing entertaining left to see here."

He disappeared, and the prince shook off his confusion, rushing forward to the princess's side. Dropping down onto his knees, he lifted her torso off the floor, cradling her head carefully. He placed his cheek next to her mouth, hoping in vain for some sign of breath.

But there was nothing.

Fear clutched his chest even harder, but he squeezed his eyes shut tight and tried to recall the words the fairy had said when she overwrote the curse all those years ago. What was it that could break the spell? A kiss?

Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath and steadied himself. This was no time to hesitate. He had to try to wake her up. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't. Hardly even aware of the eyes of the servants around them, the prince leaned forward and kissed the princess's lips softly, parting them gently as he deepened his hold, desperate to make sure the kiss was effective. Finally, he broke away, and watched the princess's face apprehensively.

A few long, torturous seconds later, her eyes slitted open, and she looked up at him. A small smile spread across her moistened lips. "I knew it would be you," she whispered.

This time before he had gone into the story, Fakir had tried to prepare himself. After his realization that he was seeing Drosselmeyer in his stories, he had done some tests in his regular stories that he wrote for the townspeople. He had carefully studied all of them for several months, unwilling to put Ahiru at any risk before he had a chance to investigate. But Drosselmeyer hadn't appeared, even once. Fakir had spent endless hours after his preliminary tests planning this story, trying to ensure that his love wouldn't be put in harm's way during the story. Fakir didn't know what Drosselmeyer wanted, or if it was really even him. Maybe it was just Fakir's own impressions of his ancestor's influence, or maybe it was Drosselmeyer's blood in him that was causing the man to appear inside his stories. Either way, he refused to let anything happen to Ahiru, either inside one of his stories or in Gold Crown Town. And yet, he had still appeared, even inside this story. As he left the story, he could practically feel the frustration and confusion filling him. He forced himself to open his eyes and focus on Ahiru instead.

For just a moment, he saw the outline of the princess from the story, like a blurred afterimage. He blinked, and once again, Ahiru was just a simple little duck. He blinked a few more times, hoping fruitlessly that she would change back again. When it didn't work, he sighed in defeat, plopping down heavily into his chair and burying his face in his hands. Ahiru hopped up into his lap, flapping and squawking excitedly.

Startled, he drew back. "Whoa, whoa there. What's got you all excited?" he asked.

Ahiru continued to flap around, quacking in a way that he knew she meant as a long speech. Sighing, he reminded her yet again, "Idiot, I can't understand what you're saying. You'll have to tell me some other way." She often forgot this basic fact when she was overly excited, as she seemed now.

She flapped off his lap, and mimicked the pose she had been in at the end of the story, then positioned herself in her pose that she had used when transforming into Princess Tutu. Fakir stared at her for a moment, trying to puzzle out her meaning. Then his eyes widened, and he asked softly, "Ahiru...do you mean...that it almost worked this time?"

Excitedly, she nodded her head, a fresh stream of quacking peppering her affirmation.

He stared at her, dumbstruck. "Impossible. I didn't do anything different. Only…" He blushed crimson, realizing what had been different in this story. He had thought that kissing her might help to wake her up from the story, and from her duck form in general. Thinking about it now, it seemed like a ridiculous idea. But obviously something about it had been effective, if only a little. He turned away from his love, mumbling, "Well, I'm glad we're on the right track. Now, I'm going to stay up a bit later working. I want to take some notes while this is still fresh in my mind. You go on to bed without me." Not looking back at her, he waved his hand over his shoulder in the vague direction of the bed. Ahiru quacked at him in displeasure, and waddled over to him, pulling at his pants leg with her flat beak.

Glancing down at her, Fakir said gently, "I know, Ahiru. It's just...we've finally made some progress. I can't just stop now." Looking away, he said in a gruff voice, "Anyway, you should go to bed. I might be up for a while."

Huffing at him, the duck flapped up and settled into his lap, tucking her head into his wing as she settled in comfortably. He looked down at her in surprise, then smiled despite himself. Damn, was she stubborn. Resting his hand on her head, he allowed himself a moment to breathe and center himself.

He was getting there. She had almost turned back. Now he just had to figure out why.

Vigor renewed, he picked up his pen, scribbling away furiously. In his lap, the duck dozed sleepily, content in their little corner of the world.


	6. Snow White

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young princess. Her father had died, and her mother, the queen, remarried. But the new king was not a kind and benevolent ruler, as the previous king had been. He burned with jealousy for the princess, and constantly berated her behind her mother's back. All too soon, the queen died as well, and the princess was left alone with her cruel stepfather. He began to treat her as a servant, dressing her in rags and forcing her to do the most menial work in the castle. Still, he could not hide the princess's exemplary beauty and charm, and as she grew older, people started to take note of her, praising her radiant orange hair, her sapphire eyes, and her skin that was white as snow. Soon, they began calling her Snow White.

One day, the princess was out in the garden, tending to the weeds, when a small group arrived at the palace. There weren't very many people, but the princess's eye was immediately drawn to the man in the front, riding astride a bay horse. Her hands slowed in their task, and stopped altogether when his gaze met hers. He pulled his horse to a halt, and waved his men on ahead of him. The princess stood and gulped. She was sure that this man was someone important, probably royalty. He held the air of authority, and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

He dismounted from his horse, and looked with interest at the girl standing before him. She was a pretty thing, slight of frame, with wide, beautiful eyes that had drawn him in with their intensity. But now, standing in front of her, he didn't know what to say. He cleared his throat and said, "Um, hello."

The words startled the girl a bit, and she dropped into a curtsy, spreading the fabric of her tattered skirt out. "Hello. I am Snow White. Welcome to our castle."

The prince frowned in thought. Snow White...the name sounded familiar. Wait...wasn't that the name they used for the princess? He looked the girl in front of him up and down. There was no way this was the kingdom's princess. She wouldn't be allowed to dress like this, and certainly wouldn't be out working in the gardens. No, this couldn't be the princess Snow White. It was simply a coincidence. That conclusion didn't really help make the prince any less nervous, though. She was still quite a beautiful girl that he was now standing awkwardly in front of. He had no idea what explanation to offer her for his erratic behavior. His training took over his body, though, and he bowed in response, and replied, "Greetings. I am the second prince of the kingdom to the north. It is a pleasure to meet you, Snow White."

The girl let out a small gasp, which she quickly tried to stifle. "Oh, the prince. Of course. Well, I hope that you have a lovely stay at the castle, I'm afraid I must be going now." Hurriedly, she picked up her trowel and turned around.

"Wait!" The prince reached out and grabbed her elbow. When they touched, he felt a spark of electricity shoot through him. She felt...familiar somehow. He continued, "Can I see you again? I'll be staying here for a little while, and I'd really love to talk some more."

She blushed crimson, all the way down to her neck. The prince found it exceedingly adorable. She looked away from him and nodded once, then gathered up her skirt. This time, the prince allowed her to make her retreat, staring after her as she went.

When the king learned of this encounter, he flew into a rage. He couldn't stand for anyone but himself to receive the praise and attention of other royals, least of all his stepdaughter. He called before him one of the palace maids, a trusted friend of the princess. He commanded the maid to take Snow White out into the woods and to kill her, and bring back her heart so he could be sure that she was really dead. The maid, not wanting to incur the wrath of the king, agreed to this despicable task. And, secretly, the idea of seeing the princess in such a high-stakes situation intrigued her.

The next day, the maid took Snow White out into the woods under the pretext of gathering flowers to put in the castle's rooms. Snow White was secretly relieved to have this distraction. She had been thinking about the prince all day, even though she knew that her stepfather would never allow her to see him. She didn't know what it was, but something about the young prince had captured her attention, and she had spent most of the previous day dwelling on their encounter in her thoughts.

The girls spent the day together gathering flowers, and Snow White was so engrossed in her thoughts of the prince that she didn't notice the dark looks the maid was giving her. Towards the end of the day, when the girls had wandered far from the castle and the sun was starting to sink on the horizon, Snow White turned to her friend and asked, "Shouldn't we be getting back now? It's getting late."

The maid stared at her for a moment, a complex expression on her face. Then she leaped forward and enveloped Snow White in a suffocating hug, crying out, "Oh, I simply can't do it! I can't kill you like that nasty old king said! It's just too cruel!"

Snow White stiffened, sure she had heard wrong. "What...what did you say?"

The maid, not wanting to miss the delightful expressions on the princess's face, pulled back, her blonde ringlets bouncing as she squealed, "Oh, it was so horrible, the king called me before him and told me to bring you out here and kill you! He wants me to cut out your heart, but I simply can't do it!"

"Wh-why would my stepfather ask you to do that?"

"Oh, wake up, Snow White! He hates you! Hates you and is jealous of you! He would stop at nothing to get rid of you, now that you've earned his anger." Abruptly, the maid released the princess and gestured into the woods. "You must run away! Quickly, go, run into the forest and find somewhere to hide! I'll make up some story for the king, but you must get away from here!"

The princess, confused and betrayed to her core, stared at the maid.

Impatiently, she huffed at the princess and pushed her towards the thick dark trees of the forest. "Go on! Don't you understand, you'll die if you stay here! Now go, hide somewhere in the forest! Quickly now!"

Her legs moving faster than her brain, Snow White obediently stumbled towards the woods, with the maid calling behind her to urge her forwards. Eventually, the princess could no longer hear her voice at all, but still she tripped onwards into the gloom of the forest, walking and walking until her thoughts caught up with her and she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Ever since the death of her mother, she had known that her stepfather was not fond of her. She hardly could have misinterpreted being treated like a servant when she was rightfully a princess of the kingdom. However, she never would have thought that her stepfather's malice towards her would extend so far that he would want her dead. For a while, she simply let herself cry as the sun sank lower in the sky.

Eventually, she heard the small snap of a twig, and jerked her head up. There, standing in front of her, was a small yellow duck.

Immediately, she felt that something was familiar about this duck. She didn't know why, but she felt a sense of kinship with it. The duck walked forward and quacked softly at the princess.

Snow White sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Why, hello there, little duck," she said. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm out here in your forest. You see, I have nowhere to go." As she spoke, the duck continued to walk towards her, until it was sitting in front of her. The princess reached out hesitantly and picked up the duck. When it offered no resistance, she placed it on her lap and stroked its head. "My stepfather has ordered for me to be killed, it seems. I can't go back home, or I will surely die. But I have nowhere to go." A fat tear dropped down her cheek despite herself, and the duck quacked up at her mournfully. The princess smiled, and said, "I don't suppose you know a place where I could stay the night."

The duck quacked again, the sound more cheerful this time, and fluttered out of the princess's arms with a flurry of feathers and wings. It flapped a short distance away, then turned around and quacked at her. Walked a few paces, then quacked again, this time impatient.

"Do you...want me to follow you?" Snow White asked, walking towards the duck. It fluttered forward a bit, clearly leading her now. Hesitantly at first, she began to follow it through the woods. They walked for a few minutes, and Snow White was beginning to wonder where the duck was leading her when she caught sight of the dim outline of a cabin. She stopped, not wanting to intrude, but the duck quacked loudly at her, flapping back to grab her skirt in its beak and tug impatiently. Obediently, the princess followed the little duck up to the door of the cabin as true darkness descended upon the woods.

She knocked on the door, timidly at first. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she called.

From inside there came footsteps, but there was something wrong about the sound. Before the princess could identify what it was, the door swung open, revealing an anteater in a dress standing on its hind legs, staring down at her.

The princess was surprised, but managed to keep her manners. "Oh...I, um, good evening. My name is Snow White, and I need a place to stay for the evening. Do you suppose I could sleep here?"

The anteater looked at the princess, then looked past her and saw the duck. The little duck flapped into the house, quacking excitedly. The anteater looked from the duck to the princess, and spoke. "Well, I suppose if Ahiru thinks you're all right, then there can't be any harm in it. Come on in, and we'll see what we can do about putting you up for the night." The anteater stepped aside, holding the door open.

The princess walked into the cabin tentatively. "Thank you very much. I was really in quite a tight spot when the duck...Ahiru, that is...found me." Saying the name felt wrong on her tongue, as if it belonged to someone else. The door shut behind her, and she looked around the cabin, trying to keep in her gasp. Just inside the door, next to a worn-looking couch, sat a hippopotamus in a dress. On her nose was a small bird, also wearing a dress of the same shade. Snow White gathered herself and curtsied, saying, "Oh, dear, pardon me. I didn't see you two ladies there. How do you do, I'm Snow White."

The hippo and bird looked at her with some interest, but said nothing. This was mostly because, before they had a chance to speak, a cat came bounding into the room, his eyes locked on Snow White. "Oh, my, what do we have here? Did Ahiru bring back a bride for me when she went out today?"

Snow White took a step back. "What? No, I'm sorry, I'm not here to marry you, I'm simply spending the night since Ahiru found me lost in the woods." As she spoke, she noticed a goat standing in the doorway behind the cat, clutching the door frame and glaring at her darkly. Before she could greet the goat, the cat yowled, "Oh, that is unfortunate! I thought that perhaps I was finally to get married! Maybe I can change your mind tonight, though."

He was interrupted by a voice at their feet. "Oh, do leave her alone, Mr. Cat. We're about to have dinner, shouldn't we be more concerned about that?" Snow White looked down and saw a prairie dog wearing a jacket, hands on his hips as he scolded the cat.

The cat sniffed back at the prairie dog. "Oh, I suppose you're right. Come along, my dear, and we'll have some dinner. I can convince you of my merits as we eat."

Snow White looked around hesitantly, unsure if she should take Mr. Cat's proffered hand. Luckily for her, Ahiru flapped noisily up into her arms, forcing her to take hold of the little duck instead. With her arms now full, she looked apologetically at Mr. Cat, who clicked his tongue in defeat. "Well, come along, my dear, and I'll show you the way to the dinner table." Relieved, the princess followed the cat into this strange house that she had stumbled upon.

The animals all gathered around the table, as the anteater placed several dishes upon it. They all fell to with general gusto, talking loudly amongst themselves as they got settled in. Snow White was handed several dishes, some more appetizing than others, clearly mixed to satisfy the diverse palettes of the diners. Once everyone had had a chance to eat, the anteater said to her, "Now, Snow White, can you tell us why you're out here all alone?"

The princess swallowed her bite of food, which tasted better than she had expected. "Well, you see, I'm from the castle. My stepfather has never liked me, but today he sent me out with my friend and told her to kill me. She told me what he said and sent me away. She said I must never return, or my stepfather will surely have me killed." She looked down, fighting back tears.

"Oh, you poor dear," murmured the bird sympathetically.

The prairie dog interrupted her, "Wait, you said you're from the castle, and that your name is Snow White. Are you the princess?"

Still looking at her plate, Snow White nodded.

"And the king is trying to kill you? There's no way we can keep you here! That mad king is likely to come looking for you once he realizes the job isn't done, and we'll get caught up in it!"

The anteater rebuked him sharply, "That's no way to talk to the poor girl! Just imagine what she's been through today, and you're ready to turn her out of the only place she has to stay? Of course we can keep her here! We're far enough from the castle and deep enough in the woods that he won't think to look here. She will be just fine. When we go to work in the morning, we'll even leave Ahiru here with her. There's no need to be concerned." Ahiru quacked enthusiastically in agreement. The anteater looked around at the other assembled animals. "What do the rest of you all think?"

The others all agreed, and the prairie dog sullenly settled down, muttering, "I still don't like it, but I suppose we'll have to make do for now and just hope for the best."

Snow White nearly cried tears of relief. "Thank you, all of you, so much for helping me. I swear I'll do the best I can to not be a burden. I'll help you cook and clean, and you'll hardly even know I'm here!"

The anteater patted her hand gently. "Yes, yes, dear. Now, if everyone's done eating, let's clean up and head to bed."

The animals all cleared the table, with Snow White doing her best to help out. They then all trundled off to bed, with Ahiru showing her an empty bed for the two of them to share. As the princess snuggled down in the bed, she thought how glad she was to have found this lovely place.

In the morning when she awoke, all the animals were gone except for Ahiru. The princess stretched, looking around the little cabin. She said to the duck, "I suppose everyone went to work already?" Ahiru quacked in affirmation. The princess mused, "I wonder where they work. Oh, well, it doesn't really matter. I'll start on cleaning up the house while they're gone, and I'll be sure to have a nice meal ready when they get home. Come on, Ahiru, let's get to work!"

That same morning, the prince woke up early, slipping quietly out of his quarters to avoid attracting the attention of his guards. He liked to walk alone in the mornings, and honestly, he was hoping to spot Snow White again. He had seen her yesterday on his early morning walk, but she had been far away and accompanied by a blonde maid, so he had left her alone.

Truthfully, he had found himself thinking about the girl so much that it surprised him. He had never really taken much notice of women before, but something about this girl pulled at his heart in a way that nobody else ever had. As he wandered through the garden where they had first met, hoping to catch sight of her, he heard two voices. Hoping to catch a glimpse of Snow White, he walked closer until he could make out what they were saying.

"...and you dare to come back here, empty-handed! I ought to have you killed instead!"

Definitely not Snow White's voice. It belonged to an older male, and was somehow a voice that the prince felt he recognized. Instinctively, the prince ducked behind a large statue in the garden so he could hear their conversation.

A thin female voice answered, "I'm sorry! Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty!"

The prince was surprised. This was the king? He was supposed to have an audience with the man today, but they hadn't had a chance to meet yet. Curious, he listened to the king's reply. "Foolish girl, I have no reason to have mercy on you. How would that make the story any more interesting? No, the only thing to do now is to take matters into my own hands. I'll have to deal with you first, and then I'll go find that wretched Snow White and finish her off myself."

The prince froze. Snow White? Where was she? He had noticed the girl was gone, but he hadn't thought much of it. But the king was planning to finish her off? What was that supposed to mean? There had to be something he could do. Cautiously, he peeked around the statue he was hiding behind, and took a look at the king. The man was much shorter than the prince had expected, with curling gray hair and beard. As he watched, the prince was horrified to see the king mutter something under his breath, and the girl in front of him collapsed to the ground. The prince ran out from his hiding place, calling, "Hey! What do you think you're doing! And where is Snow White?"

The king turned and simply smiled at the prince, then vanished into thin air.

Perplexed, the prince went to the side of the fallen girl, and was surprised to find that he recognized her as the girl who had been accompanying Snow White yesterday. Lightly, he slapped her cheek. "Hey! Hey, wake up!" She hardly stirred, so he shook her shoulders, yelling a bit louder now, "Hey! I need your help, so wake up!"

This time, the girl seemed to stir, moaning and holding her head as she sat up. "Oh, what happened?" she asked groggily.

Impatiently, the prince snapped, "The king did something to you to make you fall asleep, and then he vanished. More importantly, you were with Snow White yesterday, right? Where is she now?"

The girl blinked up at him. "I can't tell you that! My dear Snow White would be in danger if I told you! And I wouldn't even be there to see her grief!"

The prince pressed, "You have to tell me! The king said he was going to finish her off. I have to go help her, so stop being so stubborn and just talk!"

Sighing, the maid replied, "Oh, I suppose I have to tell you, then. Yesterday the king ordered me to take Snow White out into the woods and kill her. We walked for most of the day before I told her what had happened, and sent her off into the woods. I told her to never come back, so hopefully she is far enough away now that the king won't find her."

Feeling frantic now, the prince snapped, "Where? Which direction did you go?"

"East," the maid replied, pointing.

Leaping to his feet, the prince ran towards the stables without looking back. Hurriedly, he threw a saddle on his horse and swung up, heading out of the castle gates and towards the woods. As he rode, he fervently hoped that he was not too late. Clearly, the king had some sort of supernatural powers. Who knew how quickly he would be able to locate Snow White?

After about an hour of riding, the prince came upon a cabin in the woods. As he neared it, a small yellow duck came flying out of the door and barrelled into his chest. Startled, he reigned in his horse and brought his hands up to cradle the duck. With an uncharacteristic tenderness that felt natural, he asked soothingly, "Hey now, what's wrong there, little one?"

The duck pulled at his sleeve until the prince dismounted and followed it into the cabin. Once inside, he saw why the little duck was so distraught.

Snow White was lying prone on the floor.

Clearly, the king had been here first. Was he too late? He dropped to his knees next to her, still cradling the duck. With his free hand, he wrapped his arm around Snow White's shoulders and propped her up. He gave her a slight shake, crying out, "Hey! Ahiru, it's me! Please, wake up!" She didn't respond, and her head lolled unnaturally to the side. Desperate, he did the only thing he could think of. Leaning over her, he pressed his mouth firmly to hers.

With a sputtering gasp, she shot up out of his arms, and coughed hard, a chunk of apple flying from her mouth.

Looking up, she smiled and said, "Oh, it's you!"

Fakir extracted them quickly from the story, hoping to catch the moment of waking in the real world as well. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ahiru's sapphire eyes shining up at him for a moment, but the next moment they were gone and all that remained was her duck form. He stared at her long and hard, hoping that she would revert back to her human form. After a few long seconds, it became clear that she would not. Turning to his desk, Fakir slammed his head down onto it, fisting his hands on his legs. Dammit! Why wasn't anything working? He had been so close these last two times! What was different about kissing her, and why wasn't it doing enough?

A small flurry ensued at his feet, and he looked down to see Ahiru scrambling to get into his lap. He lifted his head up and looked away from her as she climbed up. "Ahiru, I'm not in the mood right now. Can't you just leave me alone?"

A reprimanding quack came from his lap, and a beak poked him accusingly in the chest. He looked down at her and saw the rebuke in her gaze, and saw beyond it to a shadow of disappointment. He paused, reminded that he wasn't the only one who was probably feeling frustration at their near-successes. Sighing, he scooped Ahiru up into his arms, holding her up to his chest. She settled in with a content sigh, snuggling into one of her favorite positions. As she closed her eyes he looked down at her and murmured, "I swear I won't give up. I'll change you back, even if it costs me everything else." He turned back to his desk, ready to take on the world for her again.


	7. Rapunzel

Once there lived a poor man and woman who longed for a child. Try as they might, they could not conceive, and the woman grew wretched with despair. She took to lying in her bed and gazing out the window. Through this window she could see a garden beyond their home, a garden that happened to belong to a powerful sorcerer. As she looked out at the garden, the woman saw the most beautiful rampion, and longed every day more and more for a taste of it. Her husband noticed her desire, and one night he climbed the wall into the sorcerer's garden and picked some rampion, bringing it back to his wife. She made it into a salad and ate it greedily.

After that, however, the woman's appetite for the rampion grew, and she craved the plant more than ever, refusing to eat anything else. She soon grew pale and drawn. The husband became frantic, and climbed over the wall again under the cover of darkness. This time, however, his luck was not with him, and he ran into the sorcerer who owned the garden. The sorcerer was angry, but the man explained that his wife was about to die, and would only eat the rampion. The sorcerer softened, and told the man that he would allow them to eat his rampion, if only they would promise to give him their firstborn child. The man agreed, and was allowed to take as much rampion as he wanted.

The woman grew well upon her steady diet of rampion, and soon it became apparent that she was with child. When she bore the child, however, the sorcerer appeared and demanded his payment for their bargain. Snatching up the child, he disappeared, and was never found in those parts again.

He took the child to the woods and raised her in a tower, giving her the name Rapunzel, after the plant her mother had loved so much. She grew into the most beautiful child, with long, fiery orange hair. As she grew, her hair grew with her, and it was soon long enough that the sorcerer used it as an entrance into the tower. He would stand beneath the window and call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." The girl would then drape her hair over a hook, and the sorcerer would climb up into the tower, usually staying until nightfall.

One day, a prince was riding his horse through the forest, and heard a voice singing. Enchanted, he followed the source of the sound until he came upon the tower. He rode all around the base of it, looking for a door. During his search, however, he heard someone approach, and took his horse to hide in the woods. From his observation spot, he watched a small, weathered old man approach the tower and call out, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." To the prince's amazement, a thick strand of hair fell from the open window at the top of the tower, and the old man was brought up to the top.

Now that the prince knew the way to get in, he settled down to wait. After a while, the old man was let back down the side of the tower by the strand of hair, which was then pulled back up. When the prince was sure that the old man was gone, he went to the base of the tower and called as he had heard, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." To his surprise, the hair was lowered for him almost immediately, and he climbed up, eager to see the source of the voice at the top.

He clambered through the wide window at the top of the tower, peering into the quickly darkening room that was lit only by the pale light from the window and a few candles. From within the room he heard a gasp, the sound giving his eyes a place to focus on. As he found a face, his heart skipped a beat. It was a girl, in the prime of her youth, with an open, pleasant face and budding figure. And, of course, her hair; yards and yards of it, now curled in a pile at her feet. Her sapphire eyes stared wide at him in accusation as she demanded, "Who are you, and how did you find me?"

The prince immediately held up his hands. He didn't want to frighten the girl. "I'm sorry, I was just passing by earlier today and heard you singing. It was such a lovely sound, that I wanted to see who was the source of the voice. I heard how the old man got up, so I thought I'd try it, too. I really didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to meet you and talk with you."

The girl seemed to relax a little, but still was on guard as she repeated, "I asked who you are!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I am the prince of this kingdom. My name is Fakir." Something passed over her face as he said his name, but it was gone quickly. "What is your name?" he asked.

She hesitated, but answered, "My name is Rapunzel. At least that's what the sorcerer calls me."

The prince stepped forward a little. "May I sit?" he asked. Rapunzel hesitated a moment, then nodded. He took a seat on the windowsill, and she sat down in a chair close to the window. He then continued, "You said that man is the sorcerer. Is he not your father?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I've never met my parents. The sorcerer only says that my father was a very stupid man who traded me for some rampion that my mother wanted. I don't know anything about that though. I've been in this tower as long as I can remember. I want more than anything to go outside, and maybe even find my parents."

The prince was overwhelmed with a desire to protect her. He knew, from the core of himself, that he had to protect this girl from anything and everything, and at any cost. He sprang up from his seat on the window and exclaimed, "Then let's get out of this tower!"

Rapunzel looked up at him. "How are we supposed to do that? The only way in or out is by my hair. I would have left years ago if I could."

Fakir waved her off excitedly. "Your hair is plenty long. If you double it up on itself, you should be able to get yourself at least halfway down. I'll wait at the bottom and catch you, and then you'll be free." He felt bold, and reached out to take her hand in his. "I know you want to leave. And I promise, I'll never let any harm come to you. Come with me, this might be your only chance to leave and live the life you want."

The girl seemed to waver visibly. Her eyes stared into the prince's, and fear was apparent in them. He leaned forward and whispered in a low voice, "Trust me. I will make sure you get out safely."

She took in a deep breath, then said in a quavering voice, "All right, I suppose I can trust you. Let's try."

The prince smiled, and leapt up. "Come on then, Rapunzel, let down your hair."

She stood up next to him, and arranged her hair on the hook hanging next to the window. Quickly, the prince scrambled down and reached the bottom. He called his horse over and mounted it, hoping the extra height from being astride a horse would help when it came time to catch his precious cargo. He tilted his head backwards and called, "Now pull it up halfway and grab on."

Hesitantly, she followed his directions. Slowly but surely, he guided her to grab the hair and begin walking herself down the wall. It worked until she was about two thirds of the way down the wall, when she reached the end of her luxuriant braid. Looking down at the rest of the distance between them, she cried, "Fakir, I'm scared!"

The sound of his name from her lips stirred something inside of him. He pushed it down and called back, "It's all right, Ahiru, let go. I'll catch you from here."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Let go."

She squeezed her eyes shut tight, and released her hold on her braid. With a squeal, she plummeted down, straight into his waiting arms. She kept her eyes shut until he laughed gently at her. "You can open your eyes now, Ahiru. You're safe."

Cautiously, she looked around, then up at the prince, and smiled. "It looks like you did catch me after all."

His heart constricted, and he leaned into her without another word, sealing his mouth over hers.

Almost reluctantly, Fakir removed them from the story. He had enjoyed this one very much. After having to see his love's lifeless body in the last two stories, he had decided upon a much safer route this time, and had deliberately chosen something with minimal roles from other people. He was still unsure what was happening with Drosselmeyer's appearances in these stories, but he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his seeming lack of power to keep the man out. Another thought had occurred to him after seeing Ahiru lying on the floor as Snow White. He really had no idea what would happen to her in real life if she died in one of his stories. At first, it hadn't seemed like a big deal, but it was becoming more apparent through their almost-successes that there was some bearing on real life through his stories. He didn't know what he would do if she got hurt in one and it turned out to be permanent. He didn't even want to think about what might have happened if his kisses hadn't revived her. So for this story, he had kept it as simple as possible, trying to exclude any other characters and potential danger, seeking to focus solely on the effects of a kiss. It certainly seemed to be doing something, as they had almost been successful in the last two stories. So this time, he was determined to focus on just the kiss by itself, without it playing any other role in the story.

He kept his eyes closed for a moment after returning, and noticed that he still felt the weight of Ahiru in his arms. He could feel her back pressing against his arm, her legs draped over his elbow, and even the curve of her ass resting on his lap. He ignored the stimulation from that, and cautiously opened his eyes.

But by the time they were fully open, she had turned back into a duck.

The now-familiar sting of disappointment swelled in his chest, and Fakir fought back the sudden urge to scream. Instead, he pressed Ahiru to himself, dipping his head down low over hers. Her concerned quack did little to bring him out. The stark contrast of having such a simple life, of having the girl he loved held tight in his arms, to this one where he couldn't even use his power to change her back from a duck, was heartrending. As he sat, head bowed over hers, he wondered for how many more months he could endure this, and a dark thought crept into his heart. Was there no other way for Ahiru to be human than for her to have Mytho's heart shard?


	8. Cinderella

Once upon a time there lived a little girl. She was happy with her mother and father, until one day her father suddenly died. Her mother, although she grieved dearly, wished for her daughter to have a father. Thus, she remarried, to a man with two daughters of his own. But the girl's new stepfamily was far from the loving one her mother had imagined. Her stepfather and stepsisters all disliked her, and only hid their disdain when the girl's mother was around. The girl tried her best to put on a brave face for her mother, but soon the mother also grew sick and died. The girl, left alone with her cruel stepfather and stepsisters, had no one to shield her from their cruelty. They treated her as a servant in their home, making her do all sorts of menial tasks, each more tiring than the next. One day, the girl fell asleep by the fireplace, exhausted, and one of her stepsisters found her. She was delighted to note that soot had smeared all over the girl's face, and from then on the girl was given the nickname Cinderella.

Despite the harsh treatment from her stepfamily, Cinderella grew into a fine young lady, with hair the color of the blazing sunset and eyes that shone like gems in her pretty face. Her stepsisters noticed that she was becoming beautiful, and grew ever more resentful of her, forcing her to do harsher and harsher tasks.

One day, a royal letter arrived at the house. Cinderella, of course, was the one to receive the messenger at the door, took the letter to her stepfamily as they ate breakfast in the dining room. Cinderella had already had her breakfast at sunrise next to the fireplace in the kitchen.

As she read it aloud to them, they discovered that it was an invitation to a ball that the prince was hosting. He was looking for a bride, and all of the eligible young noble ladies in the kingdom were commanded to attend.

Cinderella was very excited at the idea of attending a ball, and as her stepsisters were squealing over which dresses and shoes they would choose, Cinderella quietly asked, "Stepfather, may I go to the ball as well?"

Silence fell over the dining room, and her stepfamily turned to stare at her. Her eldest stepsister burst out laughing first, exclaiming, "Yeah, right, sure you can go to the ball! And what will you wear, those old rags? You'll get the prince filthy if you go anywhere near him!"

Her younger stepsister shook her blond curls, placing her hand on her chin. "Oh, wouldn't it be so lovely to watch her, though? It would be so horribly embarrassing!" The girls laughed at the idea.

Cinderella bristled at their ridicule, and cried out, "But the invitation says that all noble ladies are to attend! And I'm a noble lady of this house!"

"You!" her older stepsister cried out, throwing back her head of violet hair as the two girls roared with laughter.

"Now, now, ladies, Cinderella has a point. She is a lady of this household." Her stepfather interrupted the girls' laughter, and they stared at him incredulously.

"Father, you can't be serious!" the elder sister cried, aghast. "You can't possibly expect us to attend the ball with this...creature!"

"No, of course not," he replied calmly. "But neither can we deny Cinderella her right to go to the ball. So, my dear, if you can find yourself a proper dress, then you shall be allowed to attend the ball." He picked up his glass and took a long sip, regarding her with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Cinderella was broken-hearted. Trying to gather up her dignity, she turned and walked out of the room, fleeing into the kitchen before she dropped down by the fire, fighting back tears. Her stepfather knew very well that there was no way she could acquire a decent dress on her own, and especially not in the scant few days left before the ball. She tried to squelch down her disappointment, and went on with her chores for the day.

When the day of the ball arrived, Cinderella was kept busy fussing over her stepsisters for nearly the entire day; helping them into and out of dresses, putting up their hair and taking it out, fetching accessories, applying and reapplying makeup, hand feeding them meals so they wouldn't dirty themselves. Finally, when the sky darkened outside, her stepfather called for their carriage, and Cinderella packed her stepfamily away into it. She watched them go, and felt a sudden defeat. This time, she couldn't stop the tears from coming, and fell to the ground and cried.

As she sat there, she heard a serene voice from above her head. "May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."

Jerking her head up, she saw a tall woman with pale green hair standing over her. Sniffling, Cinderella asked, "Who are you?"

The woman replied, "I am your fairy godmother. I have come here to grant your wish. You wish to go to the ball, do you not, child?"

Cinderella nodded, and said mournfully, "But I have no way to get there, and nothing to wear. I just wanted one night away from this house, with other people. I am never allowed outside."

Nodding her head, the woman said, "Stand up, child. I shall send you to the ball."

Confused, the girl stood, and as she did, her dress sparkled and transformed. The skirt spread out around her into a graceful arc of white fabric layered over a full pink petticoat, the sleeves ruched around her forearms, and the material shifted to a blinding white with a sweetheart neckline. Cinderella reached up to feel her hair, now adorned with feathery ornaments. Lifting her skirt, she revealed delicate pink slippers to match the tone of her petticoats. She gaped at the woman standing in front of her, and asked in a whisper, "Are you really a fairy godmother?"

"Yes, I told you I was. Now let's see about getting you to the ball." She turned around and regarded the front garden of the estate. "Hmm, I believe that pumpkin will do just fine. And let's use some of those mice." As she spoke, a pumpkin rolled out from the garden, growing larger and larger as it came. As it grew, its color shifted to a delicate silver, and doors and windows appeared in its sides, until it was unmistakably a carriage. Cinderella had been so engrossed in watching the pumpkin's transformation that she didn't notice the appearance of footmen, horses, and a driver until they walked up to the newly-formed carriage and a door was opened for her.

She turned and gaped at her fairy godmother. "This is amazing! Oh, thank you so much!" She leapt forward and engulfed the woman in a tight hug.

The fairy godmother gently pried her off. "Now, now, dear, don't ruin your gown. I also need you to listen to me carefully. This magic is not forever. At midnight tonight, all of this will disappear, and go back to the way it once was. So you must make sure that you have returned by then."

"Oh, I will! Thank you so much, Fairy Godmother!" Cinderella nearly danced over to the coach in her excitement, and was handed in by the mouse-turned-footman. Once seated, she waved cheerfully at the fairy godmother until she was out of sight.

It didn't take long for the carriage to arrive at the palace. Cinderella stared up at the looming spires of the castle until the footman opened the carriage door for her. Nervously, she stepped out at walked up the steps, into the receiving hall. Thankfully, due to her late arrival, there was no line to speak of to get into the ballroom. She was able to slip in without much notice, and found a place along the wall to watch the excitement and simply drink in the freedom of the evening.

The prince, on the other hand, was becoming exceedingly bored with the entire affair. He had danced with lady after lady that had been forced upon him by doting mothers, and quite frankly, they were all starting to blend together. He was getting quite tired of the whole farce anyway. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that none of these girls was the right one, and that he was waiting for one in particular to arrive.

The moment he saw the girl in white standing by the wall, he knew.

Ah. It was Ahiru.

Smiling, Fakir made his way over to her, stopping a short distance away to bow. As he came up, he wondered what her reaction to him would be, and was relieved to see her smile. He smiled back, a genuine, broad smile, one that he couldn't remember using recently. He held his hand out and said simply, "Would you like to dance?"

She looked up at him and replied, "Yes," putting her hand in his.

They swept across the dance floor, looking only at each other. Fakir ignored the gazes of everyone else, other than to steer their dance gradually out onto the unpopulated balcony. He simply reveled in the joy of being able to look at and hold the girl he loved.

They danced together for what seemed simultaneously like eternity and an instant, until the clock in the hallway began to chime. The girl suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, dear, what time is it?"

"It's midnight," Fakir replied.

"Oh, no! I have to be going back, I'm sorry!"

Fakir's hold on her hand tightened. "No, stay!" He couldn't bear to let her go right now, and fortunately his reluctance fit in perfectly with the story.

What happened next, though, was anything but fortunate. She yanked her hand out of his, protesting, "No, Fakir, I have to go!" As she stumbled back from him, her legs hit the low railing on the balcony, and as he watched in horror, she tumbled backwards over the edge.

He lunged forward to grab her, but he was too slow. He watched as she fell down into one of the bushes of the garden below. His eyes searched for her frantically in the dark. He cried out, "Ahiru! Ahiru, are you all right?" There was no answer, and fear clutched around his heart in an icy grip. He quickly turned around and clambered backwards over the railing, dropping his body down so he was hanging as far off the edge as he could before letting go and falling heavily to the cobblestones below. He scrambled up and shoved the branches of the bush apart, finally, finally locating Ahiru's form. He pulled her out of the bush, hauling her as gently as possible onto his lap as the last chime from the clock sounded. He hardly noticed as her dress faded back into rags. He was too busy trying to revive her, gently tapping on her face as he called out to her. "Ahiru! You idiot, wake up! Please, wake up, this isn't in the story, I don't know if I can fix this! Come on, you have to be all right, please just wake up!" In desperation, he smashed his mouth down onto hers, fiercely hoping that a kiss would fix things as they had before.

He finally released her, and for a breathless moment she was still. Then she cracked her eyes open, and smiled weakly up at him. "Geez, Fakir, you sure are noisy," she said.

"Ahiru, you idiot!" he cried, yanking her body to his in a tight embrace. He clutched her to him as he scolded her. "You have to be more careful than that!"

"I'm sorry, Fakir. I'll be more careful from now on. I know you're trying your best for me."

He growled into her, "That's just it. My best doesn't seem to be enough. And I can't allow you to be put at risk anymore."

Her voice was hesitant, questioning. "Fakir?"

He pulled her away from him, noticing as he did that she was bleeding from a myriad of scratches from her landing. The sight simply steeled his resolve. "I'm going to do what I should have done months ago."

Her face contorted into confusion and shock, and she tried to protest. "What? Fakir, what do you..."

As he forcefully pulled her out of the story and she began to fade, he smiled softly and murmured, more to himself than Ahiru, "Don't worry. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get you back."


	9. The Prince and the Raven

p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir didn't even bother sending himself back into the real world. Instead, he went straight into Mytho's story. The transition left his head reeling for a moment, and he blinked in the sudden light of day. He had tried to place himself as close as he could to Mytho, but he had somehow landed outside of a large, gleaming white castle. At least he was in front of the gate. He walked up to it and was greeted quickly with a shout, "Hey, you there! What are you doing?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He looked up at the castle wall and spotted a guard staring at him sternly. "I don't have time for you. Let me in!" Fakir commanded, and he put some of his power behind it./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The guard's eyes glazed and he said, "Yes, right away." He pulled a lever, operating the door mechanisms. They creaked open, and Fakir strode purposefully inside. As he entered the castle's courtyard he yelled, "Mytho! Where are you? Mytho!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A familiar voice coated with confusion called his name. "Fakir? Is that you?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He turned and saw Rue, standing in a lavish scarlet dress, trailed by two women who were obviously ladies-in-waiting. He stalked over to her, calling, "Where's Mytho? I need to see him."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"She pursed her lips into a thin line and lifted her head slightly. "Hmph. I don't know why I expected manners from you. Even a simple greeting is apparently beyond you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He had now drawn close enough to her to hiss, "I don't give a damn about manners at this moment, Your Highness. I want to know where Mytho is, right now!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Rue sighed. "Well, I can see I'm not getting anything from you." She turned to one of her ladies-in-waiting and said calmly, "Can you fetch my husband here, please? He has a visitor. Tell him it's a very old friend." The lady, although visibly confused, dipped a polite curtsy and scurried away on her mission./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Having gotten what he wanted from Rue, Fakir turned his back on her and began a search for his next objective. As he looked around the courtyard, Rue followed his frantic path serenely. "So, Fakir, what on earth brings you to see us? It's been nearly a year since you returned us here. It seems as if your power has grown considerably, no? For you to be able to visit here at will is quite impressive."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Shut up, you annoying woman," he growled, ignoring the outraged gasp of the remaining lady-in-waiting./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Oh, you mustn't be too offended by Fakir. You see, he simply wasn't born with any sense of etiquette like a normal human."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He ignored this comment as too silly for acknowledgement./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Rue, however, was persistent. "So, Fakir, what is it? You look as if you've seen a ghost."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He rounded on her, about to spit the most venomous sentence he could think of at her, when he was stopped by a gentle voice. "Fakir? Is that really you?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He whirled around, both satisfied and feeling dread to see the face that it belonged to. "Mytho. There you are." Fakir walked over to his friend, trying his best to shove down his feelings. They would only get in the way now. When they were standing eye-to-eye, Fakir growled, "Fight me."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Rue squealed behind him, "What? Is that what you came all this way for, some kind of grudge match? How ridiculous-"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Without turning around, Fakir snapped, "Shut up, Rue." Not taking his eyes from Mytho, he said, louder now, "Mytho, fight me! Get a sword, or I'll rip you apart where you stand."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's the most idiotic-"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho held up his hand to silence his wife, giving her a small, gentle smile that curdled Fakir's blood. He looked back at his former knight and said quietly, "Very well, Fakir, if you want a duel with me, than you shall have it. I owe you an enormous debt, and this is the least I can do for you." He waved at a guard a short distance away, saying, "Bring me two swords."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Well, that saved Fakir having to find his own sword, at least. The guard quickly brought over the requested weapons, handing them to Mytho. The prince offered one to Fakir, hilt first. The ex-knight snatched it away from him and stepped back, settling into a ready stance. "Let's go, Mytho!" he roared, jumping forward in attack./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho parried the attack easily, and countered with his own thrust. As the two of them settled into the fight, swords clanging together, Mytho asked with remarkable calm, "May I ask what you hope to gain from this fight?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir snarled back, "You can ask me that if you win! Otherwise, it won't really matter to you, will it?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho nodded. "Fair enough."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They parried back and forth for a while until Fakir's desperate fighting began to falter. His swings grew wilder and wilder, until with a clang, Mytho sent his sword flying into the air, and Fakir flying onto his back. As he fell to the ground, he found the tip of Mytho's sword pointed at his throat. He glared up at the white-haired man with hatred as the prince calmly asked, "Now, Fakir, I believe you said you'd tell me what this is about if I won."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The reality of his loss sunk in, and Fakir felt failure settle over him./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Again./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was too much. He raised his hands to his eyes, willing the tears in them to not leak over. He spat up in the general direction of Mytho, "Why, you want to lord your victory over me?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The prince's voice was gentle as he answered, "No. I want to know why my friend is suffering, and why he feels like he can't tell me about it."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir let out a short bark of harsh laughter. "Well, let's see, where do I start? First of all, I've been trying for a year to turn Ahiru back into a human permanently, but nothing will work. Then, during the last story that I put her in to try to turn her back, she got hurt. She could have died! It was my fault, and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing!" He fisted one of his hands and pounded it into the dirt at his side. "And I can't let her risk herself anymore in any of my stories that I can't control. I obviously don't have enough power to keep her safe. Not as a knight, and not as a storyteller. I'm useless!" He took a deep breath. "And so I did the only thing I could think of. I came here."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho's voice, unbelievably calm, replied, "To take back my heart shard for Ahiru."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Rue gasped. Fakir flung his hands off his eyes and jerked up to a sitting position, not caring if the sword at his throat cut him or not. He glared up at Mytho. "Yes! I was supposed to take your heart shard back for her, and that would fix her. It would make up for my other failures if I could just...fix her."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho nodded. "And what does Ahiru think of this plan?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir laughed bitterly. "Do you think I told her? Of course she'd be devastated. She'd never want her happiness at the expense of someone else, least of all the man she loves."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Mytho lowered himself to the ground. "I'm glad you understand that, Fakir."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He growled, "Thanks for rubbing that in. I'm well aware that by coming here and threatening you, I'm well past the point of no return with her. She'll never forgive me. But it's not like I can actually give her the man she wants, so I may as well give her the only other thing that she does want. She never has to know that it came from you, and that I had to tear you apart again to do it."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The prince shook his head. "No, I'm not talking about her loving me. I think it's pretty obvious that Ahiru doesn't care for me in that way anymore. She loves you."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir stared at Mytho. Obviously being back in his own story with a loving wife had done strange things to his head. He decided to ignore the obvious insanity. Pulling his knees up, he rested his arms on top of them and sighed, drooping his head. "Well, at any rate, I lost to you. I'm not even good as a knight anymore. Not that I ever was."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A sharp tap sounded on his head as Rue admonished him, "Don't be ridiculous, Fakir. You are a fine knight. You simply lost your head, which is why you lost the fight."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Her husband nodded. "She's right, Fakir. You have considerable skill. I was only able to beat you because you were unfocused."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir laughed, the sound bordering on being unstable. "Well, either way, it doesn't matter. I have nothing to take back to Ahiru, and no way to face her. I almost killed her, Mytho. Where do I go from here?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Well, I think that you're not giving yourself nearly enough credit," Rue stated. "You were able to simply appear in the middle of our story and waltz into our courtyard with hardly any resistance. Surely there must be something you can do for Ahiru."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""There isn't! Her form is held by Drosselmeyer's power, there isn't anything I can do against that!"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Are you sure about that?" Rue asked. "It seems to me as if you've been trying a lot of different ways to help Ahiru. Isn't there anything that you've learned or noticed during those times?"/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir was ready to respond sharply again, but then he paused. "Well...in a lot of my recent stories, Drosselmeyer has been appearing randomly," he said slowly. "And I'm not writing him in. I've mostly been focused on it to make sure he isn't doing anything to Ahiru, but there must be some reason that he's putting himself in there."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Maybe he's scared of your power, and wants to control the story himself. Or maybe he's afraid of you finding out something that could ruin his story," Mytho said./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Slowly, Fakir nodded. He hauled himself to his feet, then reached down and offered his hand to Mytho. The prince took it, and allowed himself to be pulled up. Fakir looked at his face for a moment, then flitted his gaze away. "Mytho...I'm really sorry. I should have talked to you instead of...you know, just rushing in here. I don't expect either of you to forgive me for what I tried to do, but I'd like if you could at least not hold it against Ahiru. She really doesn't know I'm here."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I wouldn't be so sure about that," Rue chimed in. "That girl is not as stupid as she seems, particularly where you're concerned."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir looked at her in surprise as Mytho added, "Fakir, there's nothing to forgive. I understand. There are a lot of extreme things I would do for Rue." He reached out and gave the writer a quick hug, letting go as suddenly as he had initiated./p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir looked at both of his friends, and allowed himself a small smile. "Thank you, to both of you. I know what I need to do now."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Rue nodded regally. "And now that I know you are capable of it, you must come visit us again some time. And be sure to bring Ahiru, once she's human again."/p  
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Fakir's smile widened. "It's a promise."/p 


	10. Drosselmeyer's Grave

As Fakir exited Mytho's story, he tried his best to maneuver himself where he wanted to be in Gold Crown Town, and was pleased when he got it right on the dot.

Drosselmeyer's grave.

He stood at the tombstone, and hardened himself for the confrontation to come. He drew in a breath, and yelled, "Drosselmeyer! I know you're there! Come out and talk to me, you bastard!"

A low chuckle emitted from the bushes next to him, and a pair of eyes appeared from above the gravestone. "Why, if it isn't my dear grandson, Fakir. What a pleasant surprise!"

Fakir growled, "I didn't come here for pleasantries. I came here about Ahiru."

"Ah, yes, that little duck who's in love with the prince. I've been watching your attempts to change her into a human. Quite amusing."

"So you have been inserting yourself into my stories."

"Yes, it's been very entertaining. I haven't seen this many stories since I was a young writer myself. It really takes me back. You and I, we really think very similarly, you know." The chuckle sounded again.

"We aren't alike at all, you crazy old man," Fakir growled.

"Why, whatever are you talking about, my dear boy? And might I ask whose story you just went into?"

He glared at the eyes. "I think you know that I went to Mytho's story."

"Yes, going to reclaim his heart shard, weren't you? It's a shame that you failed in killing him, that would have been just the thing to do the trick and turn that duck human again."

Fakir's heart turned to ice. He hadn't been entirely sure if the heart shard from Mytho would have worked again on Ahiru, but hearing now that he had been correct, and remembering that he had failed...he gritted his teeth against the thought. No! He had to think of the cost it would have come at! Even if Ahiru had lived as a human, she never would have been able to forgive herself.

A rustling in the bushes drew his attention. He saw a flash of yellow, and stared in open-mouthed horror as Ahiru flew away, out of her hiding place. "Ahiru!" he called out, hoping desperately that she would come back. How much had she heard, exactly?

Drosselmeyer laughed. "Oh, this is too perfect. It doesn't even matter now that you didn't get my essence, she'll never forgive you for trying."

The phrasing clicked something in Fakir's head. "Wait...your essence? Is that what the necessary component is?"

The shadows around the grave darkened, and the eyes narrowed. "What are you thinking, boy?" Drosselmeyer snapped.

"Of course. It all makes sense now," Fakir murmured. It explained everything. All he needed was… "Essence."

Drosselmeyer was screaming now. "What are you thinking? You'll never be able to overwrite my story! You may have played me once, but that was only because I allowed it! Up until then, everyone and everything in this town danced to my tune, and you'd do well to not forget it!"

"Yes, but now you are just a washed-up third-rate ghost of a writer, with no real place and no real power here," Fakir replied coldly. He turned around and began to walk away from the grave.

"Stop! Where are you going? Don't mess with my story!" the shadow screeched.

"Goodbye, old man. I doubt I'll ever be back here again." As he walked away, Fakir relished the outraged cries of his ancestor's ghost.


	11. A World of Their Own

Fakir knew what to do now. The answer was so simple, and had been right in front of him for months. He just hoped that he wasn't too late to try. This would entirely hinge on Ahiru's willingness to cooperate. He hurried back to their house, barging into the shop past Karon's empty workspace. He didn't even stop to wonder where his father was, barreling on through to his room. He was relieved to find Ahiru on the bed, although just the tip of her head feather was showing from under the bed cover.

He settled carefully on the side of the bed. "Ahiru?" he asked. "Can I please talk to you?"

A sad quack came from under the covers.

He sighed, and laid his hand on the bed. "Ahiru, I know you probably don't even want to see me right now, but it's important. I need you to trust me. Can I take you inside a story to talk?"

A pause, and then her head popped out from under the covers enough for her to give a single nod.

He nodded in return, and set to work taking them into the story.

The transition was smooth and seamless, even without the direct use of paper. Perhaps Rue was right, and his powers were improving. He looked around the space he had created, a black void, and located the one thing his mind had found it important enough to include.

"Ahiru," he breathed.

It was the first time he had seen her in her human form, without any other limits, since Drosselmeyer had left. She was standing, facing him, wearing only a simple white gown. The gown, however, did little to cover her form, and he noted that her breasts were once again larger than they had been when she was a human. She appeared to have filled out her form in general, with a bit more curve to her hips as well.

He shook his head, forcing his mind to stay on topic.

Thankfully, she seemed willing to do some of the talking for him. She gave him a smile, one that flashed brilliantly with joy at first, and then quickly soured into sorrow. "Fakir, why would you go into Mytho's story and not tell me? And were you really trying to take his heart shard?"

It stung deep into his chest that the first words she was saying directly to him after a year were about another man. He reminded himself that she loved Mytho anyway, and that after what he'd done, he deserved anything she could say to him. "Yes. It's true."

She cried out, "Fakir, how could you? Why would you do something like that without even asking me first?"

He snapped back, "I didn't ask you precisely because I knew what your answer would be! There's no way you'd sacrifice someone that you care about just for your own happiness! But you weren't supposed to find out. I was just going to go in, retrieve the heart shard, then come back and pretend like I fixed you in a regular story. There was no need for you to ever find out."

"And you were fine with that? With lying to me?"

His pent-up emotions roiled in his chest as he said, "What else was I supposed to do, Ahiru? Everything I've been doing has been ending in failure. And then in the Cinderella story, you actually got hurt. It had nothing to do with anything I had planned for the story. It just happened. What if you had died? I have no idea what that would do to you in real life! What the hell am I supposed to do if something happens to you?"

"So you decided on your own that my safety was worth someone else's life?"

"Yes! Your safety, you...you're worth more than anything. Anything in the world to me!" Fakir growled.

Ahiru sucked in an uneven breath, and asked, "So then what happened in Mytho's story? Why didn't you come back with the heart shard?"

He gave a short laugh. "I didn't have some noble change of mind, if that's what you're thinking. I simply lost to Mytho. Rue said I was too distracted to focus. And then they both talked to me, which is when I realized that Drosselmeyer popping up in our stories is too much of a coincidence to be an actual coincidence. I must have been on to something recently. So I decided to try asking him directly, and gave up on the heart shard." Her face flickered with relief as he continued, "And this is where I need your consent. I think I got my answer from him."

"Well, what is it, Fakir? Why aren't you telling me, is it something awful?" she asked.

He took a step towards her, wanting to comfort her but not wanting to offer it considering what he was about to say next. "Well, it doesn't involve any heart shards or anyone dying."

She gave an audible sigh of relief. "Well, then it can't be that bad. Just tell me Fakir, what do we need to do?" She looked up at him with such trusting eyes that his chest ached.

"Drosselmeyer said something about the heart shard containing his essence, and that's when it hit me. I knew something was special about the stories where I ended it by kissing you, but I couldn't figure out what it was. But now I know. It's because I'm a descendant of Drosselmeyer, and my body contains his essence, just like the heart shards. And the only thing powerful enough to break the spell he has on you is his own essence."

She stepped a bit closer to him, confusion and some other nameless emotion in her eyes. "So how do we fix me then? Do you just need to keep kissing me?"

He shook his head. "I don't think that's going to be enough. If that would have worked, you'd be human again already. I think...I think I have to give you more of my...essence." He felt his face flushing crimson, and he looked away.

Hesitantly, she asked, "Fakir...do you mean we need to...have sex?"

He refused to look at her, but nodded his head. "Yeah. I-I think that's the only way at this point."

"Oh. I see."

What the hell was he supposed to do with that answer? His nerves set Fakir babbling, "Look, I know it's probably not pleasant for you, that your first time would be in some story, and with me, but I really think it's the only way to keep you permanently human. If there were any other way that didn't involve Mytho's heart shard, I would do it, but I really don't think-"

"And why are you deciding that I don't want my first time to be with you?"

His head whipped around to look at her in shock. She was looking at him steadfastly, albeit with a flush on her face. But her eyes were unwavering.

He was completely taken aback. "Well, I just assumed that you'd prefer Mytho, since I know how you feel about him-"

"No," she interrupted, "You know how I _felt_ about him. And how I felt about him is nothing compared to how I feel about you." Her face grew even more red, but she kept going. "Fakir, I've been trapped as a duck for a year, unable to tell you how I feel, hoping that you'll pick up on it through my actions. But as good as you are at telling everything else I'm thinking, you still somehow seemed to miss the fact that I-I love you."

Fakir felt his eyes widen, and his mouth gaped open. He covered it with his hand for a moment, then began protesting, "But, Ahiru, I don't understand, I thought-"

"I know what you thought. But I've loved you for a long time, since before I became a duck. And now that I can finally tell you, I'm not going to let this chance go by." She stood, tall and proud, and red as a berry, in front of him.

Shit, she was just too cute. He reached out and grabbed her in for a hug, relishing the feel of her in his arms. "I love you too," he growled huskily into her hair. "So, so much."

Her grip on him tightened. "That's good," she replied in a quavering voice. "Then that means that us having s-sex is a good thing, right?"

He drew back from her gently, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He rested his forehead on hers and whispered, "You tell me. I'll do whatever you want."

She gulped, and he felt it through their point of contact. "I...I want to have sex with you. And...not just because you think it will change me back."

Fakir suppressed a groan at her words. Damn, he loved her. He really had to keep a lid on his emotions, if he wanted to last long enough to make her first time any good. He nodded into her, and gathered up his power to make a bed appear next to them. He drew his head away from her enough to gesture towards it. "Are you ready?"

She looked up at him, face beet-red. Without responding, she reached down and pulled the hem of her dress up, tugging on it slowly until it was all the way off, dropping it on the ground next to her. He stared at her incredulously. She was gorgeous. All the curves he had noticed were even more beautiful without any clothes in the way. He frowned, noting that she was still covered with scratches from the Cinderella story. He'd have to do something about that.

He took hold of her face and tiled it up gently, exposing her neck and the long, thin scratch that marred it. Starting at the base of her neck where the scratch began, he gently touched it with the tip of his tongue. Ahiru sucked in her breath as he made contact, and he felt a distinct twitch in his cock as he dragged his tongue up the length of the wound. Drawing back from her, he watched as the cut closed up before his eyes. Satisfied, he looked at his love's face, and saw her eyes starting to haze over. He gave a little smirk as he said, "Looks like my saliva is enough for these cuts, at least. I'm going to fix the rest of them for you. Hold still for a minute." He scanned up and down her body, noting the locations of the rest of her injuries. He cupped the back of her head and drew her into his chest, bending his head down so he could get access to the next one on her shoulder. She shivered as his tongue laved over the wound, and he watched with satisfaction as it disappeared. He lifted up her arm delicately with his hand, tracing down it with his tongue to cover the myriad of small scrapes she had sustained on it from her fall. She trembled into him, and he felt himself growing hard from the stimulation. Letting go of her arm, he picked up the other and repeated his treatment, relishing her reaction to him.

When both arms were clear of injuries, he pulled her tighter against himself and craned his head over her shoulder to look at her back. Her dress must have protected her, since there was only one long scratch, crossing over her spine in a diagonal slash. Gingerly, he turned her around in his grasp, and knelt down to bring his head level with the injury. Gripping her firmly by her hips, he brought his head to the scratch where it began just above the swell of her ass. He couldn't resist resting his thumbs on the firm flesh, rubbing them gently over the curve of her skin. She gasped audibly this time. He responded by slowly, languidly, tracing circles around the cut on her back with his tongue, making his way upwards almost reluctantly as he got farther away from her ass. When he was done, he dug his hands into his grip harshly for a second, relishing the way his thumbs sank into her skin. She let out a small mewl.

Now Fakir turned his attention to her legs. Slowly, gently, he began licking the cuts that he could reach on the back of her legs, noting with considerable pride that they were trembling under his tongue. When that was finished, he shifted his body so that he was kneeling in front of her, ready to fix the fronts of her legs. Being within view of her face now, he looked up and saw that she was a delightful shade of red, her hands clasped tightly together by her chest. Grinning up at her, he lifted one of her legs and placed his mouth by a long scrape, dragging his tongue up its length. Once it had healed shut, however, instead of moving on to the next one, he gave a small, sharp nip on the exposed skin.

Ahiru yelped. He grinned up at her as she scolded, "Fakir!"

He chose to ignore her, giving the same treatments to the rest of the cuts on her legs, enjoying each little cry she gave when he nipped her. Finally, her legs were healed, and the only cut left was a long, shallow one across her stomach. Fakir grinned and renewed his hold on her hips. He'd been waiting for this one.

Ahiru saw the direction of his gaze, and as he brought his mouth up to her stomach, she asked in a quavering voice, "Fakir, don't you think it's time to go to the bed?"

Fakir stopped his descent, with his lips barely touching her flesh. He replied, "No, Ahiru, it's not time for that yet. I still have to finish healing you. You wouldn't want this wound to get worse, would you?" As he spoke his lips ghosted over her skin, and he was gratified to feel her entire body quivering. This time, as he put his mouth on her injury, he was not so sweet as he had been before. He attacked her flesh with open-mouthed kisses, flattening his tongue across the plane of her abdomen and dragging it viciously over the cut. Ahiru arched her back and let out a high-pitched cry. To keep her from getting away from him, he slid his arms around her waist up to the elbow, locking her into him. Satisfied that he had her, he moved his attention, and his mouth, up to her pert breasts. Not stopping to give them the same gentle treatment he had the rest of her body, he completely enveloped one inside of his mouth, roving his tongue around its swell. Her hands fisted tightly into his hair, and she let out a moan, the sound pitching down lower than her previous cries. He felt his already hard cock stiffen, and he let out a matching moan, vibrating around her breast that was still in his mouth. She groaned once more, and he felt her legs give way. He was holding her so tightly, though, that she simply collapsed into him, and he kept lavishing her body with attention. He suckled on her breast tightly, enjoying her cries as he did so, until he decided that the other one needed attention. Tenderly, he released the pressure his mouth was applying, and as he drew his head away from her breast, he licked her stiff nipple lightly with the tip of his tongue. She shuddered.

Taking note of her reaction, Fakir licked her other nipple, enjoying the noise she made. Deciding to take it a step further, he delicately closed his teeth around it and tugged.

Her reaction was spectacular. Her head shot back, and she cried out as her arms wrapped around his head, clutching him to her body.

Grinning, he released her nipple and asked, "Did you like that, Ahiru?"

Bringing her head down to look at him, she replied in a tremulous voice, "Y-yes."

Deciding that he had tortured her enough, he readjusted his grip on her, holding her tight as he stood up, taking her with him. She squealed and clutched onto him as he said, "Are you ready to go to the bed now?"

She looked down at him and nodded, her blush creeping down to her neck.

She was adorable. Fakir carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently on top of it. He stopped for a moment to stare at her, enjoying her beautiful form until she cleared her throat and brought him back to reality. "Um, Fakir? Are you coming?"

He shook his head a bit to clear it. "Yeah, Ahiru, give me a second." As much as he wanted to pounce on her right then and there, he needed to take some clothes off to do it. As quickly as he could, he stripped off his shirt and pants, leaving his clothes in a puddle by the side of the bed. When he removed his underwear, Ahiru's eyes grew wide at the sight of his cock standing stiffly up.

"Fakir, it's so big," she squeaked. "Why is it so big?"

He chuckled a little bit at his adorable, naive duck. "It's not always like this. You'd have noticed if it was. It only gets like this when I want you."

He swore the blush was spreading down to Ahiru's chest now. She looked away and mumbled, "Oh. I noticed it being big like that a few times, but I never really thought about it...other than to wonder what it looked like…"

This was too much for him. How was he supposed to react to the news that the girl he loved had thought about his cock? He kneeled on the bed next to her, placing his hands on either side of her body and dropping his head down to rest on her shoulder. She was just too much. Too damn sexy. Her worried voice queried, "Fakir?"

He rallied himself. Pulling his head off of her, he smirked at her and said, "Well, it's here now. You can look at it all you want."

Her mouth contorted in embarrassment, and she visibly gulped, but still nodded steadfastly. Resolutely, she turned her eyes to his manhood, and to his surprise, reached out and gripped it in her hand.

The suddenness of the action was too much for him. He let out a garbled noise, and felt himself turning red now. She looked up at him, surprised, and smiled, a smile that he knew was dangerous. Slowly, she tightened her hold on him, and slid her hand down his length.

He groaned, and she asked with way more heat in her voice than he thought was fair, "Do you like that, Fakir?"

He nodded, and managed to grind out, "Keep moving your hand up and down like that."

She complied, and began to pump her hand on his cock, torturously slowly. The reality of her touching him was too much though, and after only a few movements, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Ahiru looked up at him, startled, and asked, "Was that not good?"

He gritted his teeth. Who the hell had given her the right to be so sexy? "No, Ahiru, it's just that...I want to make sure I finish inside of you."

Her eyes widened. "Oh. Well, then...you should put it inside of me."

Fakir was certain his entire face was red now. He managed to nod, not trusting his voice to say anything. With his knee, he gently nudged Ahiru's legs open, and settled in between them. Propping himself up on one hand, he used the other to position his head at the folds of her vagina. He gulped as he looked at it, dripping from her arousal. He'd have to spend more time exploring it some other day. Right now, she was waiting for him. Slowly but firmly, he guided himself to her entrance, and slipped inside of her.

She yelped as he slid in, grabbing onto his shoulders tightly. He didn't get very far in before he met resistance to his forward motion. He pressed into it experimentally, and Ahiru whimpered. "What's wrong? Does it hurt?" he demanded, terrified of injuring her any further.

Resolutely, she shook her head, and said in a tiny voice, "No, Fakir, keep going. I need you."

He wavered, but her words combined with the tantalizing heat of her insides gave him the motivation he needed. He pressed further into her until he was fully seated within. She writhed under him and turned her head to the side, tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Leaning down, he kissed the damp spots away and whispered, "Ahiru, we can stop if it hurts. I don't ever want to cause you pain."

She shook her head violently. "No, I want to have sex with you. Please, keep going, I'll be fine." She opened her eyes and smiled up at him shakily.

He looked down at her, conflicting feelings swirling around inside of him. Finally he growled, "Fine, if that's what you want." Pulling himself partially out of her, he thrust back in again, this time sheathing himself completely in one motion. She whimpered, and he did it again, and again, watching her face carefully as he drove into her over and over. He had decided that it would be best if he came quickly, then she could change back into a human and her discomfort would be over. Despite how amazing her wet heat felt around him, however, he found that it was difficult for him to climax when his love's face was contorted in pain beneath him.

After a minute or so, however, her expression began to change. First, the pain faded off, and then it was replaced with wonder. She opened her eyes wide and looked up at him, and he grinned back down at her. "Does it still hurt, Princess?" he asked huskily.

She shook her head. "No, it doesn't hurt at all now. I'm feeling so...Fakir, you feel so…" She grabbed onto his shoulders tighter, and wrapped her legs around his thrusting hips.

The motion was electrifying. He growled, and grabbed onto her shoulders as he began to thrust into her harder. Her voice cried out, a series of staccato yelps as his head pushed against the depths of her. He felt his release coming, and tried hard to hold it in. He wanted to make sure she came first, but he wasn't really sure how to tell if she had or not.

His question was soon answered. On one particularly deep thrust, Ahiru clutched onto him with her entire body as her walls tightened deliciously around his cock, and she keened a single, high-pitched wail.

This was entirely too much for him. A half second later, he was coming along with her, digging his hands into her as his cock pulsed over and over.

Finally, when he was spent, he rolled off of Ahiru, laying on his back and panting at the void that still encompassed them.

He felt a poke on his shoulder. He flipped his head over, and Ahiru's hopeful face was looking at him. "Can we try now and see if it worked?"

Oh. Right. He'd forgotten that they'd been having sex for a reason. Quickly, he sat up, flushing red from embarrassment. "Yes, of course, I'll get us out of here in a moment." Summoning his power, Fakir pulled them out of the story, and into their room.


	12. Gold Crown Town

Fakir knew they were back in Gold Crown Town now, but he was afraid to open his eyes. Afraid to see, as he had so many times before, the image of the girl he loved changing back into a duck. He sat, poised on the edge of his bed, wanting to see and yet terrified.

As he fought with himself, he felt a soft touch on his bare back. A small voice asked, "Fakir?"

His heart skipped, and slowly, he opened his eyes and turned around.

And there she was. Sitting next to him on the bed, radiant hair disheveled, concern in her beautiful sapphire eyes. Undeniably human.

His eyes welled up with tears as he drank her in. He had finally done it. Here she was, fully human, miraculously sitting there. He smiled at her as his vision hazed. He leaned forward, circling his arms around her middle as he buried his face in her lap. He felt her hand rest on top of his head as the tears streamed out. She began stroking his hair, and whispered, "I'm back, Fakir. Thank you so much for rescuing me. I'm sorry I made you wait for so long."

He shook his head, the motion made difficult from his place in her lap. "No, it was my fault it took so long. I'm so glad to see you again, Ahiru."

She leaned over him, resting her arms on top of him, running her fingers through his hair as he cried out a year of pain, sorrow, and frustration.

Finally, he quieted down, and noticed that the back of his head felt damp. Shifting slightly so that Ahiru moved off of him, he sat up and took at look at her face, and saw her tears echoing his own. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, and she laughed as she leaned into him. "Fakir, I'm here. I'm really here. You did it."

Overwhelmed with emotion, he stared at her for one breathless moment before smashing his mouth down on hers harsly in a kiss. This kiss felt amazing, better than anything that he had experienced in any of his stories. The reality of being able to run his tongue along Ahiru's lip was quickly driving him wild. He pulled back from her, both of them breathing heavily from the contact.

It was then that Fakir realized they were both still naked.

Blushing fiercely, he snapped his head away from her, covering his mouth with one hand. "Fakir, what's wrong?" Ahiru asked, concern in her voice.

"Ahiru, I'm sorry, I...somehow managed to leave our clothes in the story."

She looked down at herself, and her face reddened. She fisted her hands into her lap, and said in a trembling voice, "Well...it's not like you haven't seen me naked already."

He stared at her in wide-eyed shock. Where was his innocent little duck going? His eyes roved down her, unbidden, and he noted that the changes to her body that he'd seen in the story seemed permanent. That made sense. She'd been living for an extra year as a duck, and her human body had obviously matured along with it.

He was so lost in staring at her that he almost missed her quiet voice. "Fakir, I'm wondering...I think maybe we should have sex again."

That startled him into fixing his eyes on hers. "What?" he asked groggily.

She took a deep breath, and continued. "Yeah, I mean...I know you said it would work since it was in a story, but I'm just thinking...there were a few times where I almost changed back in the real world from a kiss, but then I lost my form and became a duck again. I just...don't want that to happen. I want to continue living with you as a human, and it just seems...like we should make sure the transformation sticks, you know?" She looked at him, eyes glassed over from embarrassment, but unwavering.

"I...well, I hadn't thought of that." Fakir was hesitant to rush into her idea, but his cock was already growing stiff again at the thought.

Ahiru noticed it, and smiled, reaching out to touch the tip with her finger. She traced up and down it with her fingertip as she coaxed, "Come on Fakir, you know it's a good idea to make sure. Besides, didn't it feel good for you?"

He had to admire her. She was bright red, but still stuck to her guns. He growled. She was way too sexy, and he had no defences against her. Settling his back against the headboard, he reached out and grabbed her, hauling her bodily into his lap. She squealed as she was moved, clutching onto the back of his neck as he settled her astride him, bottom on his thighs. He grinned wolfishly at her. "I suppose you're right, Ahiru. We should make sure."

She looked at him, unmistakable heat in her eyes. "Fakir, you called me something else earlier. What was it?"

It was his turn to flush. He turned his head away. "It's just a pet name I call you sometimes in my head."

"Ohh, is it? What was it now? Hmm, I don't remember." Ahiru tapped her chin thoughtfully, wearing that troublemaker's smile.

He glared at her, and snapped, "Princess. There, are you happy, Princess Tutu? You found my embarrassing nickname for you, are you happy?"

"Very much so. Will you call me it again?"

He decided that her teasing had gone on long enough. She needed to be put in her place. Grabbing her firmly by her hips, he pulled her upwards as she squealed in surprise. Positioning her leaking entrance at the tip of his cock, he let go for a moment to make sure his head was lined up correctly, then pulled her down on top of him savagely. She threw her head back and yelped. Satisfied, he ground upwards into her, surprised when she let out a strangled mewling sound. He tried again, enjoying the noises she made as he pushed deep within her. He grinned, and said, "Do you like that, Princess?"

She lowered her head down to look at him through lust-glazed eyes. Her hands clasped over her mouth as she nodded.

That wouldn't do at all. He reached up to yank her hands away from her mouth, positioning them on his thighs instead. He leaned forward, whispering into her ear, "I want to hear you moan for me, Princess." He grabbed onto her hips again, and began thrusting into her. Obediently, she allowed her voice out, a halting series of moans and cries. Having her in this position was perfect, he decided, as with each thrust he made into her, her breasts bounced up and down from the motion. He growled, filled with the need to taste them again. Darting his head forward, he licked one of her nipples before biting down onto it, hard.

Her hands shot around his neck, holding on for dear life as she rode on his cock. "Fakiiiir," she keened out, "I...I think I'm close again."

He nodded, not releasing her nipple from its prison between his teeth. Grabbing onto her hips, he pushed deep inside of her and bucked his hips up, grinding against her. He was gratified to feel her tighten up on him, squeezing him tightly as his name was torn from her lips. Hearing her call him in such a wanton voice quickly pushed him into an orgasm, and a feral cry tore from his own throat as his cum streamed into her.

When they both had finished, Fakir flopped back against the bed, holding his love in a loose grip. She relaxed into his chest, not bothering to take his cock out of her. They both sat, panting, for a few seconds, until Ahiru laughed and said, "Well, I think that should do it, right?"

He moved his hand up to stroke her hair absently as he replied, "What are you talking about? You never know when the transformation might reverse itself. We'll have to keep having sex to make sure you stay with me." He squeezed her tightly against him for a moment, reassuring himself that she was still there, was still real.

She hummed against him. "Yeah, you're probably right. But I know that even if I do change into a duck, you can fix me again."

He looked down at the top of her head where it rested on his chest, startled. She had so much faith in him. But did he deserve that? He pressed his lips to her hair. Even if he didn't, he had to make it true. It was his duty as her knight, after all, to make sure that his princess stayed safe. He chuckled to himself. Or, in this case, his duck.


	13. Epilogue

Fakir opened his eyes and frantically looked around for his wife. He located her quickly, and let out an audible sigh of relief. She chuckled and squeezed their still-clasped hands, saying gently, "Fakir, I told you it would be fine. I'm right here."

He dropped her hand and grabbed her by both shoulders, gently spinning her to face him. "Yes, but are you sure you're feeling all right? Nothing hurts or feels weird? How's the baby?"

She laughed and reached up to pat his cheek gently. "I already said I'm fine. We both are. There's nothing for you to worry about. I told you I trusted your power to bring us here."

He stared down at her, clearly unconvinced. "Well, I suppose at the very least, it looks like we got here all right. But I want you to stay where I can see you the whole time we're in this story, all right, Ahiru? There's no telling what might happen to you here, and in your condition."

Now his wife was starting to look a little annoyed. "Yes, I know your thoughts about this whole thing. You said all of this before we came here. Many times."

Fakir muttered, "Well, you wouldn't listen to me no matter how often I said it. I gave in and brought you here, so in exchange you should have to listen to my complaints as much as I want." He placed a hand on the slight bump on Ahiru's belly, bending down and speaking to it. "You understand, don't you, little one? We have to keep your mother safe."

Suddenly a voice called out from somewhere above them. "Well, you two sure are sweet together, aren't you?"

Fakir straightened up immediately, shoving his wife behind him as gently as possible. He located the source of the voice, and relaxed a little when he recognized the owner. "How long have you been spying on us, Rue?" he asked, not able to keep the snap out of his tone, or the blush off his cheeks.

She leaned on the rampart of the castle leisurely, looking like she was enjoying this very much. "Oh, I suppose I've seen most of it. You certainly love that little baby already, don't you?"

He glared up at her, angry to be observed like this by someone other than Ahiru. He opened his mouth to retort when his wife's cheerful voice chirped from behind him, "Hello, Rue!"

Rue's expression softened when she saw Ahiru. "Hello, Ahiru!" she called back. "It's so nice to see you again! Why don't you two come in? Mytho is waiting, too." With the air of someone who was used to their orders being obeyed, she turned around and walked out of their sight, leaving them relatively alone in front of the castle.

Fakir turned around, feeling anxious again. He began barking out last-minute instructions. "Remember, Ahiru, tell me the second anything feels weird, and we'll go home right away. You two being safe is our main priority here."

She smiled up at him, a beautifully sunny smile. "There's nothing to worry about, Fakir. You're here with me, and I know you'll protect us. And besides, I have plenty of your essence in me right now." Smiling, she patted the small mound where their child was growing.

A small smile cracked Fakir's face. "Well, technically, it's only half my essence."

Ahiru laughed, and stood on her toes to give him a soft kiss. The trust shining in her eyes finally succeeded in shutting his mouth just as the doors were opened and the two were admitted into the castle.

They were ushered into the castle's courtyard, but Fakir found it hard to focus on his surroundings. He had purposefully let Ahiru walk in front of him so he could monitor her for any changes in her constitution. He hardly noticed when they entered the courtyard until his wife cried out, "Rue!" and ran towards her friend.

That did get his attention. As soon as she began to run, he followed after her and managed to grab onto her forearm after only a few steps. She looked back at him, confused, as he launched into a tirade. "Ahiru, you idiot, what do you think you're doing? You can't go running around like that! What if you fell and hurt yourself?" With his free hand, he gently rapped his knuckles on her forehead.

She whimpered quietly and held her forehead, looking up at him forlornly. "I was just excited to see Rue," she muttered with pursed lips.

"Yes, but you have to be more careful!"

"Now, Fakir. You must be kinder to your wife than that, or she will soon grow tired of you." Rue's smug voice finally drew his attention away from Ahiru, and he raised his gaze to glare at her as she walked over to them.

Ahiru, however, almost immediately forgot her petulance towards her husband. Her face brightened as she once again exclaimed, "Rue!"

She launched her small body at her friend, and Rue caught her, laughing gently. "Ahiru, it's very nice to see you again! I'm so sorry we couldn't make it to your wedding, due to the condition I was in. But we want to congratulate you!" Her gaze flickered over at the dark-haired man. "Even if you did marry Fakir," she said quietly, and Fakir bristled. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ahiru's voice cut him off.

"Ah, that's right! Rue, you already had your baby, didn't you? Where is he?"

Rue replied, "Mytho took him off for a while. But he's been informed that you have arrived, and should be here any minute."

"We're here already, Rue."

Fakir turned around at the soft voice behind him, and saw his friend striding towards them, holding a small bundle carefully in his arms. Ahiru squealed when she saw him and started to dash over, but Fakir caught her before she had gone a step, issuing a warning glare. She looked up at her husband and sighed in defeat, waiting patiently until the other man had walked over to them. Once he was standing in front of the little group, Ahiru looked up at him with shining eyes and said, "It's so good to see you, Mytho-senpai! Is that your son?"

Giving his impossibly gentle smile in return, Mytho replied, "Yes, this is Bertrem. Would you like to see him?"

This was clearly what Ahiru had been waiting for. She squealed, "Ooh, can I?"

Mytho nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm. "Yes. In fact, you're welcome to hold him."

Ahiru practically bounced in place at this. She held her arms out and, with a visible effort to steady herself, said seriously, "I will be sure to be careful with him!"

Rue chuckled from behind them, and said, "Well, since you'll have a little one of your own soon, you should get used to carrying a baby."

Ahiru was much too busy settling little Bertrem into her arms to pay attention to her friend, but Fakir turned to her with a frown. "It won't be all that soon," he said sternly. "She's hardly four months along."

Sensing a touchy topic for the dark-haired man, Rue gave an almost wicked grin. "Yes, but that time goes by very quickly. Before you know it, she'll be giving birth to your own baby."

Fakir gritted his teeth in an effort to keep from snapping back at her. He hasn't really talked about it, but the thought of his wife in labor terrified him. It wasn't uncommon for women to die in childbirth, and although Ahiru's body had grown some, she was still a dainty woman. Whenever he looked at her, he couldn't help but wonder how she was going to get another human out of her body without it destroying her. For now, he settled for resting his hand on her shoulder as she held baby Bertrem, trying his best to ignore Rue's taunting.

His wife was gushing to Mytho, "He's such a beautiful baby! As expected, of yours and Rue's child! And look at all that pretty dark hair!"

Mytho smiled down at the baby as well, every inch the image of a doting father. "Yes, isn't he just perfect?" He shifted his gaze up to Fakir, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. "You know, Fakir, Bertrem will need a bride when he gets older."

An unpleasant feeling stirred inside Fakir. He replied stiffly, "Isn't it a bit early to think about finding a bride for him?"

Rue stepped around to Ahiru's other side, saying in a cheerful voice, "Oh, no, not at all. It isn't uncommon for royalty to be betrothed upon birth."

"Is that so? I wish you luck in finding him a bride, then."

"Well, Fakir, what about your child?"

Ahiru looked up in surprise, while Fakir just glared coldly at his friend. "And what on earth would make you think we would agree to that?" he asked, allowing the ice to leak into his voice.

"Oh, come now, Fakir, it isn't as if you couldn't visit whenever you wanted to. Or even live here with us. We could allow the children time to get to know each other, and see where it goes. Even if we do betrothe them, if they themselves don't want to get married when they come of age, it can be dissolved."

Fakir continued to stare, unconvinced. "And what if the child is a boy?" He smiled, certain he had caught Mytho.

But Mytho just returned the stare with a smile. "In that case, then I would request that he become one of Bertrem's attendants. I know that my son would be lucky to have your son as a knight, and even more so as a friend."

Feeling his face flush red, Fakir averted his gaze. What was he supposed to say to that?

Luckily for him, his wife was almost never at a loss for words. "All of this is a little too soon, isn't it? I haven't even had our baby yet. Maybe we can talk about it once they're both running around and can speak for themselves." Tapping Bertrem on his nose, she handed him back to his father, and turned to Rue. "Anyway, Rue, we have a lot to catch up on! Would it be fine if we sat somewhere?"

Rue laughed. "Of course. I remember how uncomfortable it was to be on my feet when I was pregnant."

Fakir looked at his wife sharply. She had never mentioned that to him. He studied her carefully. How often had her feet hurt lately? Was she simply trying to hide it from him so he didn't worry? As he was scrutinizing her, Rue leaned over and spoke low next to his ear. "You're worrying entirely too much about her. Childbirth is a perfectly natural process, and she'll do fine. She's a lot stronger than you think." Giving him a knowing smile, she took Ahiru's hand and folded it into the crook of her arm, signaling to her ladies-in-waiting who were standing a short distance away. They began to walk towards a shaded garden. Ahiru turned back and gave Fakir a small wave before immersing herself in conversation with her friend.

Sighing, Fakir watched them go. Mytho's voice broke through his reverie. "Would you like to hold Bertrem?"

He looked at his friend, then at the small bundle. He gave a single nod. He supposed it would be good practice for him as well to get used to holding a baby.

There was just one problem, though. "Um, Mytho...how should I hold him?" Fakir refused to look at his friend's face as he asked, instead focusing on the baby.

"Well, it's not all that hard, really. Put his head in the crook of your elbow, and support under his body with that same arm. Your other arm goes under or around him, for extra support. Here, I'll help you." Patiently, Mytho placed the baby into Fakir's clumsy grip, and arranged his arms so they were properly holding Bertrem.

Looking down, Fakir noted that his wife was right. The baby sported a full head of slightly curled black hair. He felt himself relaxing a little. This wasn't so bad after all.

Mytho bent over the baby to brush a hand over his soft hair and spoke in a low voice. "Rue is right, you know. Ahiru will be just fine. Especially with you around to protect her and believe in her."

As much as he hated it, he knew that his friends were correct. His wife was incredibly strong, and had endured more than any of them could ever imagine going through. He sneaked a look over at her retreating back, and smiled. His princess would be fine. As her knight, he would make sure of it.


End file.
